


Et Lire Entre Les Lignes

by Minty_Pixie



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Barista Work, Fanfiction, Fluff, French poetry, Happy Ending, Innuendo, Literature, M/M, Romance, Tattooed Kyungsoo, alcohol consumption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-20 03:40:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 27,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11912445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minty_Pixie/pseuds/Minty_Pixie
Summary: Kim Jongin, stressed-out student by day and fanfiction author by night, is here to give you two very helpful tips about college student life.First : Let coffee become your best friend. Second : Don't accidentally sent your smut fic to your tutor. Except maybe if his name is Do Kyungsoo.





	Et Lire Entre Les Lignes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lucyoppa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucyoppa/gifts).



> Yay we’re finally here ! So, first of all, I legit freaked out when I saw who I had to write for, because LEGEND, hello ! So I HAD to write something good (ot at least try to) ! It was a struggle to decide which one of your prompts I was gonna choose, they were all awesome ! But I hope you’ll be happy with the one I picked, and that you’ll like the story. Maybe even as much as I loved writing it ? *crossed fingers*. I’m not sure how I ended up writing that much but yay ? I should also thank my best friend, cause she’s probably wanted to strangle me a few times along the way. She even last-minute beta-ed the ending cause I was desperate and she’s an angel. Love you to the moon and back lil’ cookie (and I’m sorry xD). And dear mods, thank you for your endless patience and your hard work, this fest was a gift, the very first time I joined one, so it’s really special to me !  
> Okay, I’m done, I'll shut up now. Enjoy reading everyone !!

For the eighth time since he sat down, Jongin checks his watch. 12:17am. It shouldn’t be long now until the person he is waiting for arrives.  
Next to him, Sehun gives him a knowing look.  
  
“Shut up,” he grumbles and munches on a chunk of pizza crust.  
  
“I didn’t say anything !” his friend smirks.  
  
The boy shakes his head, but Jongin’s eyes snaps to his right when the cafeteria’s door opens.  
  
Just as he predicted, Do Kyungsoo enters the room, cladded in black ripped skinny jean and a navy-blue leather jacket, combat boots thumping on the hard floor.  
  
Jongin’s gaze follows the boy as he strolls towards the far-right corner of the cafeteria.  
  
Right, it’s Wednesday.  
  
And Wednesday means he will be spending lunch time with Byun Baekhyun, a Bio-Chem major in senior year and Kyungsoo’s official best friend. Jongin heard they met when Kyungsoo entered high school and joined the official school’s choir. Baekhyun was delighted to finally find someone talented he could perform duets with and both had been best friends since then. The _Hot Duo_ as their girl classmates used to call them. Teenagers aren’t that creative with nicknames, clearly.  
  
But really, Jongin only knows this because he _heard_ it. Not because he tried to know what the boys’ relationship was after he noticed the amount of time they seemed to spend together.  
  
Just like he absolutely hasn’t made a mental list of who Kyungsoo eats lunch every day. Nope !  
He just _heard_ that on Mondays, he sits at the table near the cafeteria’s entrance with the tall and goofy Park Chanyeol who studies Microbiology and his shorter version, Kim Jongdae, majoring in Sociology. On Tuesdays, at the table in the very center of the room, Kim Jongdae joins him again, with another guy named Im Hyunsik who apparently majors in Civil Engineering and has known Kyungsoo since elementary school. Just like Wednesdays, Thursdays’ lunches are spent with Baekhyun, and they’re joined every two weeks by Jung Eunji and Park Jiyeon, two juniors studying Linguistics. Once again, Baekhyun sits with Kyungsoo on Fridays and every now and then, History of Arts major Ahn Heeyeon come to eat with them.  
  
Or so he heard. And he accidentally remembered.  
  
“There’s a rumor saying he’s dating Kang Seulgi, from the Psychology department.”  
  
Jongin turns his head to look at Sehun, confused.  
  
“Who ?”  
  
“Do Kyungsoo. You know, your hot tutor. The one you spend your time staring at...”  
  
“I don’t stare !” Jongin pouts.  
  
“Sure, you don’t !” Sehun scoffs then throws a fry in his mouth, “You totally weren’t drooling all over the table just now.”  
  
“I don’t stare. And I don’t drool. I was just thinking I need to ask him something about an assignment,” he retorts, still subtly wiping his chin, just in case. His eyes give a quick look to the table Kyungsoo sits at, happily chatting with his best friend, “And what if he is dating her ? I don’t care.”  
  
Sehun snorts.  
  
“Yeah, right.”  
  
Alright, he may care a tiny bit. And he may have been staring.  
Just a little.  
Fine. Maybe more than that.  
  
Who could blame him, though ? Do Kyungsoo is the embodiment of Perfection itself. Ranked in the top three of his class, he is smart, able to hold debates and captivate people with his interesting, engaged and open-minded point of views. His perpetual confident attitude gives him an aura charming everyone each time he enters a room. He’s also respectful, very good-mannered and a true gentleman, wooing instantly elders, teachers, almost every girl and many guys too. He is a good listener and undoubtedly cares a lot about his friends, helping them – or basically anyone who asks – whenever they need him. Jongin also found out he was funny, sometimes without meaning too, getting out of many situations with clever comebacks.  
Everyone and their dogs want to be friend with the guy. Or more.  
And if all this wasn’t enough, Life had to bless him with incredible looks too.  
His sturdy built makes up for what he lacks in height. And his burgundy hair, shaved on the sides and bangs falling carelessly on his forehead gives him a rebellious look that his intense gaze reinforces.  
A flawless face, plump tempting lips and a straight nose. Defined arms, manly hands and strong thighs.  
From top to bottom, nothing is unpleasant to look at.  
And he smells good too.  
  
It's kind of unfair. But then wouldn’t it be even less fair to deny this striking sight to the world ?  
  
Jongin still remembers when he had only started his first year. On the second week, he was sitting in his Cultural Studies classroom, going through his notes once again when all the chit-chat from his classmates gradually stopped. He lifted his head and searched around to see what made them all go so quiet, when his gaze landed on a very, _very_ good-looking boy standing next to the professor’s desk. Dressed in a black t-shirt with some classic rock band logo, a red plaid shirt tied around his hips, black distressed jeans and worn out Timberlands, the guy’s stance had clearly drawn everyone’s attention. Jongin included.  
  
“Professor Choi sent me to let you know he’ll be a little late as he’s been held up in a meeting. He should be here shortly though, so don’t go anywhere, okay ?”  
  
The deep and soft voice had surprised the freshman and just as the rest of his classmates, he merely nodded and followed the boy with his eyes as he exited the room. The buzz of conversations resumed around him instantly and he caught a name being mentioned a few times.  
  
“That’s Do Kyungsoo, right ?”  
  
“Yeah, he’s a year older than us ! Total hottie and super smart !”  
  
Jongin had spent the next month and a half catching sight of the boy here and there around the university, learning facts and rumors about him through his classmates – even though he always pretended not to hear anything when he caught their discussions ; he had mastered the eavesdropping skill quite easily.  
  
No doubt most of the girls in his class were completely mesmerized by the older male, even if, back then, very little had enough courage to actually go and talk to him.  
And Jongin was in the same situation. Utterly captivated, but way too shy to do anything other than watch him from afar.  
  
That’s why, when he finally got the chance to speak with the red-haired male at the end of his Freshman year’s first semester, things didn’t go as smoothly as he had fantasized they would...  
  
  
_“Kim Jongin ?”_  
  
_He turns around at the masculine voice calling his name and freezes when he sees who its owner is. Do Kyungsoo, in all his glorious hotness, is standing there in front of him, looking at him with expectant eyes._  
  
_“You’re Kim Jongin, right ?”_  
  
_“Uhm...y-yes ?” Jongin answers in a questioning tone as his brain tries to process the fact that Do fucking Kyungsoo is talking to him and_ oh my god is this even real _?_  
  
_“You’re not sure ?”  the shorter male chuckles, raised eyebrow and a half-smile adorning his handsome face._  
  
_Jongin shakes his head, nods, then shakes his head no again._  
  
_“No. Uhm, I mean yes. I’m sure.”_  
  
Wow, well done. ‘How to look like an idiot’ a book by Kim Jongin _, he thinks, mentally cringing._  
  
_Kyungsoo lets out another little laugh and Jongin’s mind blanks._  
  
_“Okay. I’m Do Kyungsoo, nice to meet you.”_  
  
_The red-haired male smiles, reaching his hand out for Jongin to shake._  
  
_“I know,” Jongin answers.  
  
He only realizes what he said when the older cocks an eyebrow again. It also vaguely dawns on him that he completely ignored the other’s hand when it falls back by the man’s side._  
  
‘How to be incredibly rude’, second best seller by Kim Jongin.  
  
_Thankfully, Kyungsoo doesn’t seem to be bothered by it, judging by his side grin._  
  
_“You do ?”_  
  
Alright. Okay. Jongin, get a hold of yourself. You can do this !  
  
_“Yes. I mean I uhm... I’ve seen you. Around... Sometimes. Before.”_  
  
Or maybe not.  
  
_His shoulders slump as he lets out a pitiful sigh, embarrassed smile twisting his face in a weird grimace._  
  
Awesome.  
  
_He drops his gaze to the floor and wonders if the ground would do him a favor and swallow him this instant, only to bring his eyes back up when yet another chuckle comes out of Kyungsoo’s pretty lips._  
  
_“Good. I’m in sophomore year, I major in Literature too.”_  
  
‘I know’ _, Jongin wants to answer again, but he forces his lips to stay sealed and simply nods._  
  
_“Professor Jo told me you were looking for someone to tutor you ? He gave me your record so I could take a look at it. Is it okay with you or would you prefer someone else tutoring you ?”_  
  
_“Yes !” Jongin blurts out way too quickly, eyes widening, unintentionally startling Kyungsoo ._  
  
_“Yes ?... As in ‘yes you wanna find someone else’ or... ?”_  
  
_The older male blinks, looking a little embarrassed and totally confused._  
  
Great, Jongin. Perfect !  
  
_“No no no ! I mean, yes I’m okay with you being my tutor. I don’t uhm...I mean, it’s fine. I don’t want anyone else,” he finishes, cheeks on fire._  
  
_Contemplating if he’d better not just turn around and flee, Jongin vaguely wonders if there ever was any worse encounter in the history of tutor-tutee first meetings. This is a total disaster._  
  
_And Kyungsoo surely noticed how he’s blushing like a school girl in front of her crush.  
_ Amazing. Now he’s gonna think you’re a freak.  
  
_But for some weird and obscure reason, the older student doesn’t run away. He laughs. Again. A deep and melodic sound that has Jongin’s brain short-circuit._  
  
_“Alright then,” the red-haired boy beams at Jongin, obvious amusement filling his voice, “I gotta go now, but I have your phone number in your file so I’ll text you to see when we can meet ?”_  
  
_“O-okay,” Jongin stutters quietly._  
  
_A few seconds later, as Kyungsoo walks away, Jongin mentally slaps himself._  
  
_“Sunbae !” His voice is loud enough for Kyungsoo to hear him, and as the shorter male looks back, he finally gets a grip of himself, “Thank you. For agreeing to be my tutor.”_  
  
_“You’re welcome. I feel like it won’t be boring at all,” Kyungsoo answers with an enigmatic look on his face, lips pursed in a confident smirk._  
  
_Then with a final bow of the head, he’s gone, and Jongin stands there, staring at the hallway’s corner where the older disappeared until he jolts, remembering he is supposed to be on the opposite side of the huge building for his next class that will start in two minutes.  
  
But for once in his student life, he doesn’t really mind being late. _  
  
_One hundred percent worth it, he thinks as he smiles._  
  
_Focus Jongin. Run !  
_  
  
“Are you even listening to me ?”  
  
Jongin blinks and turns his head to see Sehun glaring at him.  
  
“What ?” he asks, confused and Sehun sighs.  
  
“Forget it. You should do something about it, you know.”  
  
“About what ?”  
  
“Your obvious crush on your tutor,” Sehun deadpans, chewing on his food as he points his chopsticks towards the table Kyungsoo sits at, “It’s been a year and a half already. How much longer are you gonna wait ?”  
  
“I thought you said he was dating that Psychology major.”  
  
“No, I said it was a rumor,” the blond corrects him, “But there’s also a rumor saying Byun Baekhyun and Park Chanyeol are some kind of friends with benefits, so obviously, people here like to come up with some pretty stupid bullshit,” Sehun ends, rolling his eyes.  
  
_Except it’s not a rumor_. That’s what Jongin wants to say. He knows for a fact Baekhyun and Chanyeol indeed have some fun together every now and then, because Kyungsoo had accidentally let the info slip during a tutoring session.  
Jongin remembers clearly how the boy’s eyes widened in the cutest way – according to Jongin –  when he realized what he had just said and made the younger promise he would keep it to himself.  
  
So, if that rumor is true, the other one could be too.  
  
Jongin sighs.  
  
“Oh come on, cheer up, dude. Don’t you have a session with him after class today ?” Sehun tries, nudging the Literature major who simply nods, “Ask him if the rumor’s true, then !”  
  
The older of the two groans and take a big bite of his pizza.  
  
A few hours later, he tries to gather up the courage to question Kyungsoo. And fails.  
He goes back to his dorm room with a wave and the promise to send his tutor one of the papers he has to write, to have some feedback before he submits it to his professor _.  
  
  
_ \- - -  
  
  
Sat on his bed under his warm blanket, Jongin rubs his eyes with the palm of his hand as he holds back a yawn. He shakes his head, trying to wave the sleepiness away from his brain. After three hours of intense focusing, he just finally completed a six pages paper for his French Literature class. He is quite proud of himself, the amount of research he did allowed him to write a very strong essay – at least in his opinion. A few personal touches here and there, just like Kyungsoo advised him to do, should definitely get him extra points on his mark.  
  
He saves the file on his desktop, and promises himself – once again – to try and organize all the messy documents later. His blurry eyes check the watch on his wrist and he winces. He was supposed to send his assignment to Kyungsoo several hours ago so he could have it reviewed as quickly as possible. But perfectionist-Jongin had decided to show up – once again – and the whole writing had taken longer than expected.  
The paper isn’t due before the next week but Jongin is not the type of student who gets his work done at the last minute. When everyone is out to party at night, he is either in one of the two campus libraries or in his room, studying. And no matter how many times his friends have tried to tell him he should “ _chill his tusks and enjoy life_ ” – Sehun’s words, not his – he keeps on refusing their invitations.  
  
He wouldn’t categorize himself as an introvert ; it’s not that he doesn’t like parties or doesn’t want to socialize. He simply has a different set of priorities. Jongin’s dream of having his own publishing house bloomed in his mind when he was thirteen, and never left him since then. His parents couldn’t have been more supportive. They had always encouraged him to follow his heart and reach his goal. His dad passed on his love for books to his son when the boy was still in diapers and after his death a few years back, Jongin had been even more determined to pursue his dream.  
  
He studied harder than any of his classmates in high school, graduated with flying colors and earned a full scholarship in a prestigious university that offered a renowned cursus for Literature majors.  
And now that he was about to finish his sophomore year in college with a perfect record and stunning grades, there was no way he would risk ruining everything.  
  
Of course, maintaining his marks so high tends to backfire. His stress level usually reaches the moon and his sleep schedule is as chaotic as Sehun’s dorm room – which says a lot considering Jongin has never seen the actual color of said room’s linoleum under the mess laying on the ground. It’s only thanks to the amount of coffee he drinks, despite hating the poisonous taste, that he manages to keep his brain alert enough to study some more.  
  
He can be quite hard on himself. He pushes his limits too far, forces information and knowledge into his exhausted mind. His bitten nails look like a battlefield, the plum color of his dark circle constantly makes him look like a ghost, and his body developed the weird habit of alternating between barely swallowing any food on some days and binge eating the next – the soft tummy laying under his pajama shirt right now is acting as a good enough proof.  
  
But all this doesn’t feel like a sacrifice, as his friends claim sometimes. He enjoys the classes he takes, he loves to spend hours diving in the books his professors have put in each course’s syllabus, and he likes the debates he occasionally has with his classmates about a new text they’re studying. He even manages to find time to write for his own pleasure, although he would never talk about it with anyone except his best friend. Writing fanfictions is a subject that often makes people laugh so he tends to keep that to himself. He isn’t ashamed. He’s actually quite proud of his work and he has a consequent amount of readers who praise his writing style and his creativity. He likes to see it as part of the process to reach his dream. In his mind, if he understands what it feels like to be the one writing the story and getting the critics, it will help him when he’ll be on the other side, meeting authors who want to get published.  
  
So, he knows despite all the stress and the tiredness, everything will be worth it in the end.  
  
Another yawn stretches his mouth and he blinks for a few seconds to adjust his vision to the tears filling his eyes. He just need to send that essay to Kyungsoo and he’ll be able to finally go to sleep.  
  
He drags his mouse’s pointer on his desktop screen, quickly selecting the two files he needs to send and uploads them in his email while he sets his three phone’s alarms for the next morning. One to wake up, one to get out of bed ten minutes later, and one for the moment he needs to leave for class. He locks his phone, dropping it next to him and swiftly types Kyungsoo’s email address, fighting back another yawn as he presses the Send button.  
  
The exact moment his finger clicks on the touchpad, something on the screen makes his heart stop. The next second, it’s gone and all the blood from Jongin’s face is drained with it.  
  
“Oh no… No no no no...” he whispers in a shaky breath.  
  
His pointer hurriedly slides across the screen. A couple of clicks and some scrolling later, Jongin tries to evaluate how fast he could manage to change his identity and disappear forever. The Antarctica seems far away enough, and penguins are cute.  
  
“Oh my god ! No no no !!!”  
  
Jongin gets up at lighting speed and almost falls off his bed when he tries to untangle his long legs from the rumpled sheets. He grabs his phone, his sweaty hands nearly dropping it and unlocks it, dialing the first contact in his favorite list.  
  
One ring.  
  
He munches on his nails, legs fidgeting. His best friend will help him, right ?  
  
Two rings.  
  
Jongin starts pacing in his tiny dorm room. Four steps to his desk, four back towards his bed.  
  
Three rings.  
  
“Pick up, pick up, pick up !”  
  
Four rings. A faint clicky sound. Then he hears her drowsy voice.  
  
“Nini what the fuck, it’s 4am.”  
  
“Soojung ! Oh thank god, please help me !” Jongin nearly shouts  
  
The girl sighs briefly. Jongin stands still.  
  
“You’ll do great on your test, as usual. Stop worrying and go to sleep,” she groans and he can almost see her roll her eyes.  
  
She’s definitely used to Jongin calling her and freaking out about tests and assignments.  
  
“No, it’s not that !” he shakes his head even though she obviously can’t see him, “I fucked up ! Oh my god, what do I do ?”  
  
And Soojung must have heard the panic that fills his voice, judging by the rustle of fabric on her side of the line indicating she probably sat up in her bed.  
  
“Okay, calm down. What happened ?” she serenely asks.  
  
Jongin mentally screams, because now is really, _really_ not the time to be calm.  
  
“You know I had to send my paper to Kyungsoo hyung tonight ? But I messed up when I uploaded the files in my email ! I sent the essay but I selected the wrong file when I attached the list of sources I used and I ended up sending him the last chapter of my fic ! I was super sleepy and I didn’t notice until I had already sent it !” he rushes and syllables overlaps each other, distress causing his native Jeolla dialect to come out stronger than ever.  
  
Silence answers him.  
  
“Soojung ?”  
  
“Which one ?” the girl finally asks.  
  
“What ?”  
  
“Which fic is it ?”  
  
Jongin winces, cheeks red from embarrassment. He fucked up big time.  
  
“ _Bring the sexy back_ ,” he grimaces and his free hand grips his hair.  
  
The next second, Jongin has to move the phone away from his ear when a high-pitched laughter comes out of the device’s speaker. He gives the girl a few more seconds before he speaks again.  
  
“It’s _so_ not funny !”  
  
“Oh yes, it is !” she insists, “Out of all the chaptered fics you’re currently writing, you sent him the one with the most graphically described kinks !”  
  
The little bitch doesn’t even _try_ to hold back her giggles and poor Jongin wants to cry.  
  
“Soojung ! Please help me, I don’t know what to do ! He’s gonna think I’m a creepy pervert !” he whines pathetically, pouting.  
  
“Well, there’s nothing I can do !” she chuckles, “Your only hope is that he either won’t open the file, or that he’s into kinky gay smut !”  
  
“Soojung !”  
  
“Hey, literature is literature, right ?” she laughs again.  
  
“You suck. I’m revoking our friendship !”  
  
Jongin knows he’s acting like a child. But mind you, he is in a middle of a mental breakdown ! He is allowed to be a little dramatic !  
  
“Again ?” she snickers.  
  
“Soojuuuuung !”  
  
“Okay, okay. Stop repeating my name like that.”  
  
“What do I do now ?”  
  
“Just email him the sources list and explain to him you mistakenly sent him something else in the previous message. And tell him you’d be glad if he could not open the wrong file,” she suggests after clearing her throat.  
  
“Won’t this make him want to open it even more ? Oh god, and you know I name the chapters’ files by their titles on my laptop ! This is bad ! This is really, _really_ bad !” he wheezes, completely freaking out as he resumes his pacing.  
  
“What’s the title of this one ?” she inquires, clearly trying to hold back a new wave of giggles.  
  
Jongin groans.  
  
“ _I’ll make you cum undone_ ,” he answers, cheeks searing.  
  
On the other side of the line, Soojung bursts out laughing once again.  
  
“I told you to stop with your puns ! You should’ve listened !”  
  
Jongin makes a mental note to find a new best friend once this crisis is dealt with.  
  
“What if he opens it and reads it ! I’m so fucked !”  
  
“By its title, I’m assuming it’s not a fluffy in-between-smut chapter, right ?”  
  
“I wanna die !” Jongin sobs as he collapses face down on his bed and nearly bangs his head on his laptop.  
  
“There, there. Stay alive and just start praying he won’t read it, cause I’m out of ideas !”  
  
“You’re the worst best friend ever...” he groans, voice muffled by his pillow.  
  
“You always say that, yet you keep calling me !” she sassily snorts, “It’s okay, what’s the worst that could happen ?”  
  
“He could read it !” Jongin shouts, flipping on his back in a quick movement.  
  
“The ask him for feedback !” she laughs.  
  
“I hate you so much right now...”  
  
“Yeah, sure. Look, write to him and stop overreacting,” she sighs, trying to reason him, “Now I gotta go, I need my beauty sleep if I don’t want to look like zombie-you.”  
  
Still pouting, Jongin ends the phone call after he wishes her goodnight. He drops the device near his head, sits up and grabs his laptop. Better follow her advice, cause he’s out of ideas too.  
  
He makes extra sure to attach the good file this time and he tries to sound as apologetic as possible in the message, insisting on how sorry he is for the inconvenience and asking his tutor to ignore the weirdly named document in his precedent email.  
Then, praying Kyungsoo will read both messages before he opens any uploaded file, he sends it and shuts his laptop, then lays back on the bed.  
Before he drifts into slumber, he still gives a shot at Soojung’s last-hope-idea.  
  
“I’m not sure how this works but if anyone up there is willing to help, please, _please_ , do so... I don’t wanna live in Antarctica, it’s too cold.” _  
  
  
_ \- - -  
  
  
Jongin spends the next days somehow avoiding every place where he could stumble on Kyungsoo – which proves to be fairly easy, considering he had memorized the older’s schedule and habits. He isn’t exactly sure _why_ he is avoiding him, but it sounded logic when his brain suggested the idea. And when Saturday comes around and the junior still hasn’t emailed him back, Jongin doesn’t know if he’s either relieved or even more worried.  
On the bright side, the weekend means less chances to come across the red-haired male in between classes. And there is still the hope his email got mysteriously lost in the cyberspace and didn’t reach Kyungsoo’s inbox.  
On the other side, it could also indicate the young man has indeed read the chapter-of-doom, as Jongin now calls it, and has decided the sophomore was a creepy freak and he doesn’t want to have anything to do with him anymore. At this point, he doesn’t even really care about getting feedback for his essay anymore.  
  
It’s 11:54pm on Sunday, though, when Jongin’s relief flies away as his phone notifies him he got a new email from his tutor. He hesitantly grabs the device, takes a deep and shaky breath before he reads Kyungsoo’s reply.  
  
  
_Hi Jongin._  
  
_Sorry it took so long to reply, I’ve been extra busy these past two days. I didn’t want to read your work in a rush so I’ve waited to have some free time to take a good look at it, since I knew it wasn’t due before next Friday._  
  
_First, I like how you compared Alexandre Dumas's_ Histoire d'un casse noisette _to Perraults’s tales and how you emphasized the difference regarding the morals. Maybe you could go a tiny bit more in depth if you include a reference to Grimm’s tales too ? I have a copy of the three books if you can’t find them in the library._  
  
_Second, it was a very good idea to include some references to Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. Your development about why you think it was adapted as a ballet really captivated me !  
And I have no idea what a ‘Pas de deux’ is, but it was a nice touch to include dance references in it._  
  
_As for your sources list, this time I’d suggest you try to reorganize it by the impact the books, texts and other sources have in your essay instead of doing it alphabetically. Your essay is mostly focused on very few of them, so I think it’d be more fitting to do it this way._  
  
_Overall, it’s a really good paper. It flows well and every point you made is perfectly pertinent (at least in my opinion). I’m sure your grade will show how much work you put into it._  
  
  
_Now about your “unofficial” sources list. If I’m completely honest, I would’ve actually pinned you into the Dramione ship kind of fan. But the approach you have on how Draco and Ron got closer is undoubtedly...interesting, at the very least. Now I know why you don’t need my help for your Creative writing assignments ! Keep up the good work ;)._  
  
_I’ll see you on Wednesday._  
  
_-Kyungsoo_

  
  
And as he faceplants on his bed, Jongin’s loud and desperate wail probably wakes up any of his dorm-neighbors who was already asleep _.  
  
  
_ \- - -  
  
  
When Wednesday afternoon arrives, Jongin is more on edge than he’s ever been. Including when he was waiting for his university acceptance letter – and trust him on that, he was a chaotic mess back then and drove his usually patient mom completely crazy with his mood swings.  
He has already chewed on his nails enough to draw blood and when he went to the bathroom earlier, he’s sure he saw a bald spot above his temple in the mirror.  
His body feels like it’s vibrating as he sits at his usual spot in the library and waits for his tutor to join him after his German Literature class.  
  
What is he even supposed to say to the junior student ? He didn’t even dare email Kyungsoo back, embarrassment overpowering any sense of politeness he ever had. Sehun literally had to drag Jongin’s ass to the library’s door earlier – even if he had no idea what was going on with his friend, he knew the lame “ _I don’t feel well, I should go back to my room and take a nap, like, right now_ ” excuse Jongin had offered him was hiding something concerning the boy’s tutor and he decided it was his role as a friend to make sure he went to his tutoring session and dealt with whatever it was.  
  
So here Jongin was, sitting on his chair, eyes fixed on his textbook. His right leg bounces at a frenetic pace, clammy hands gripping his jeans as he attempts to get his uneven breaths back under control. _What a view.  
_ He’s so focused on trying to look as natural as possible and not scare any student that could look at him, that he doesn’t hear the rapid steps coming to a stop in front of him.  
  
“Sorry, I got held in class,” Kyungsoo pants and Jongin jolts so hard he nearly falls from his chair with a squeaky yelp, “Oh my god, are you okay ? I didn’t mean to startle you !” the older apologizes in a concerned tone as drops his bag and rushes at Jongin’s side, placing a hand on his shoulder to make sure his balance is back.  
  
“Y-yeah, I’m okay. I didn’t hear you coming.”  
  
Jongin awkwardly smiles and shifts in his sit, wiping his sweaty palms on his thighs.  
Kyungsoo’s hand lingers a little longer, lightly sliding down on his upper arm, eyes still full of worry, then he nods and rounds the table to take his sit.  
  
“What were you so focused on ?” the red-haired male asks, eyeing Jongin’s textbook with interest while he gets a red binder from his own bag.  
  
_Trying to get my shit together before facing you_. That would be what Jong would’ve said if he was forced to be honest. He doesn’t even know what is on his book anyway. He just randomly opened it earlier in his vain attempt of looking somewhat normal, but his eyes had been staring at the words without reading them.  
  
He quickly checks the page opened in front of him, his mind trying to come up with a plausible excuse when he notices the textbook is disclosed on a chapter they haven’t covered in class yet.  
  
“I was just...uhm...” Jongin starts, brain cells overheating.  
  
_Think, Jongin. Think !_  
  
“Kyungsoo oppa !” a voice interrupts – or saves – him.  
  
Kyungsoo’s attention turns towards the short girl who brightly smiles at him and Jongin lets a relieved sigh escape his lips.  
  
“Oh, hey Nayeon ! What are you doing here ?” the junior gently asks, heart-shaped lips curling up as she takes the last steps to their table.  
  
“Hyunsik oppa asked me to come and grab some books for him,” she answers with an annoyed face, “Like I have nothing better to do while he has fun with his girlfriend.”  
  
She sighs as she bends forward to prop her elbows on the table right next to the junior, rolling her eyes and Kyungsoo chuckles. His hand comes up to pat the top of her loosely curled chestnut hair.  
  
“Your brother loves you, you know that,” he provides, kindness evident in his voice and Jongin’s eyes slide from one to the other, trying to decipher what’s going on between the two. He knows Kyungsoo and Hyunsik have been friends since they were kids, and if she’s Hyunsik’s sister, then it means she’s also known Kyungsoo for a long time.  
  
The girl, Nayeon, leans into the touch, looking at Kyungsoo right in the eye, smile back on his face.

“Well maybe you could ask him to be nicer to me then. Like you are,” she happily giggles.  
  
“I’ll do my best.”  
  
The red-haired male nods and takes his hand back after a final light ruffle of her hair.  
Another chuckle from the girl and she straightens up. A cute wave and a “Thanks ! See you tonight oppa !” later, she’s gone.  
  
_Tonight_ , Jongin thinks, mind connecting the dots with the tender interactions he witnessed a few moments back. And once again lost in his thoughts he visibly flinches when Kyungsoo addresses him.  
  
“So, what do you wanna work on today ?” _  
  
  
_ \- - -  
  
  
They spend the next half hour discussing about how Jongin should approach the subject of his next English Literature class’ assignment, only getting interrupted when Nayeon pops back up behind Kyungsoo. Holding three books in her arms, she swiftly pecks the red-haired male’s cheek with a little laugh before she trots towards the exit door. Jongin watches a sheepish Kyungsoo scratch his nape in mild embarrassment but decides to ignore what just happened and resumes his note taking.  
  
After another fifteen minutes of brainstorming, the sophomore finally puts his pen down and cracks his knuckles, stiff from too much writing. He got a fair amount of work there and planned every step of his essay with Kyungsoo’s help. Writing this one will be pretty easy now, it definitely won’t take him as long as the last paper, Jongin contentedly thinks.  
  
But any trace of satisfaction evaporates the next second when he remembers what happened with his last assignment. He swiftly eyes Kyungsoo who’s currently scrolling on his phone.  
  
Jongin isn’t sure if it’s a good idea to bring it up, but he needs to know if Kyungsoo is just being nice to him out of politeness. So he braces himself and, taking a deep breath, he opts for a question that will introduce the subject without being too straight forward as a “So you really think breathplay is ‘ _interesting’_ ?” could be.  
  
“Why Dramione ?” he rushes out, and it feels like ripping a bad-aid off his brain, painful but necessary.  
  
Kyungsoo lazily turns his attention towards the sophomore.  
  
“What ?”  
  
“In your email, you said...” he trails, then watches as recognition fills his tutor’s eyes, “And I was wondering...why Dramione ?”  
  
“Well, the smart one attracted to the bad boy who isn’t actually that bad… Sounds like your type of thing,” the junior strikes with a cocky smile.  
  
“I... I guess, yes,” Jongin says after a little silence, "But it’d be hard for me to write, you know, these scenes between a boy and a girl.”  
  
“And why is that ? When I look at you, I find hard to believe you could still be innocent in that department,” Kyungsoo smirks.  
  
His left eyebrow perks up and his eyes slowly and appreciatively slide down and back up Jongin’s figure.  
  
“Uhm... No, I mean...it’s the girl-boy interaction in this kind of situation I’m not familiar with...” Jongin ends shyly, bracing himself just in case Kyungsoo reacts badly at the implications of what he just admitted.  
  
“Oh.” The older makes a pause, looking contemplative, and Jongin holds his breath, “Well, the logistics is different, yes. But the overall aim is the same, don’t you think ? I mean, sex is sex and love is love. The gender only matters in the practical way of doing things,” he grins, “But since your writing style is more focused on the emotional aspect, I’m sure you could manage.”  
  
Jongin blinks at his tutor and tries to process what he just heard. In a few sentences, Kyungsoo has not only proven he was even more open-minded than Jongin thought he was, but he has even dropped another compliment on his writing.  
  
A small smile stretches the younger’s lips as he tilts his head back down to look at his book.  
  
“Kyungsoo hyung ?” he says, eyes still set on the page.  
  
“Mmh ?”  
  
“Are you dating anyone ?”  
  
“What ?”  
  
“I uhm... I heard you were dating a girl from the Psychology department. Kang Seulgi, I think ?”  
  
The silence that follows his question pushes him to finally look up, only to witness the older boy suddenly bursting out laughing and Jongin can only stare some more as Kyungsoo eyes get teary.  
  
“H-hyung ?” he utters when he sees the junior trying to control his hilarity after he gets some glares from other students.  
  
“I’m sorry,” Kyungsoo starts, then gets interrupted by a new wave of chuckles. When he finally calms down enough to speak properly, he wipes a lone tear glistening on his bottom eyelashes, “Sorry, really. You took me by surprise.”  
  
“W-why ?” Jongin inquires, puzzled.  
  
“Well, for starters, she totally has a girlfriend, so clearly, I’m not her type !”  
  
“Oh...”  
  
“Yeah. And second, even if I was her type, she’s not exactly mine these days.” Kyungsoo adds with a knowing smile.  
  
“Why not ?” Jongin asks, cutely tilting his head to the side.  
  
Seulgi is the kind of girl a lot of guys would fall for. She’s pretty, smart and very kind, from what he heard.  
  
“Alphabetical issues,” the older states in a serious tone.  
  
“...What ?”  
  
_Is that supposed to be a literature major joke or reference ?_ Jongin thinks. And his face must look really confused at that moment because Kyungsoo loses his solemn expression and chuckles.  
  
“She happens to have V where I’d recently rather like to see a D,” he says.  
  
A proud side grin lifts his round cheeks, and he even adds a little wink right at the end of his explanation.  
  
In the few seconds it takes for Jongin to make sense of what Kyungsoo just said, the older stares at him, and watches as understanding paints a surprised look on the sophomore’s face who flushes bright red, up to the tip of his ears.  
  
“Oh...” the younger breathes out, eyes looking down at his book once again.  
  
“So, no. She’s nice and we’re friends. But I’m not dating her. Or anyone, for the record.” Kyungsoo finishes and he sounds like he’s implying something Jongin doesn’t quite catch.  
  
“So you-” Jongin starts but suddenly interrupts himself when Byun Baekhyun pops up out of nowhere and casually sits on the chair next to Kyungsoo’s.  
  
Jongin is used to people randomly coming up to talk with Kyungsoo during their tutoring session. That’s just how much everyone loves the junior. So Jongin usually tries to look focused on what he’s working on as to not seem like he is eavesdropping, since no one really pays attention to him.  
Of course, cheerful and obnoxious Baekhyun _does_ notice him. Every single time.  
  
“Hey Soo. Jongin,” the senior greets him with a swift bow of the head and a beam.  
  
Jongin bows back and watches as Baekhyun lightly slaps Kyungsoo’s shoulder with the back of his hand.  
  
“Still up for the party at Jongdae’s tonight ? Joohyun’s gonna be there !” the hazel-haired male says, wiggling his eyebrows at his best friend.  
  
“I would’ve come even if she wasn’t,” Kyungsoo scoffs, “You can stop trying to get us back together, it’s not gonna happen, and you know that.”  
  
Jongin observes the scene. Baekhyun dramatically sighs and Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, amused at his friend’s antics.  
He isn’t exactly sure to understand everything going on. A few minutes earlier, he thought Kyungsoo told him he was more into guys. But the new information about him and a girl being in a relationship contradicts it, just as Kyungsoo’s interaction with that Nayeon girl earlier. Did he misinterpreted what the older had implied ? Or maybe the ‘ _recently_ ’ in his statement was an indication he was into both gender ? Confused Jongin is confused.  
  
“You’re such a killjoy ! Jongin, tell him he’s a killjoy !”  
  
Jongin jolts when Baekhyun suddenly addresses him, thumb pointing at Kyungsoo who now also looks at the younger with a side smile. He probably waits for him to answer too.  
  
“Uhm... I don’t-“  
  
“Hey, why don’t you come to the party too ?” Baekhyun interrupts him, looking like he just had the greatest idea of all time.  
  
“I-I’m not really...uhm...”  
  
“Come on ! Your homework won’t runaway if you take some time to enjoy life ! If you come, you can make sure Kyungsoo here doesn’t end up drunk-kissing some random people !” he playfully chants as he jiggles his eyebrows once more and pokes his best friend temple.  
  
“Leave him alone, Baek,” Kyungsoo scolds him before Jongin can even say anything, lightly frowning and leaning away from the annoying finger.  
  
“Alright, alright ! I’m just trying to help you, Soo !” the senior replies, lifting his hands in a surrender motion.  
  
“Okay well you can go now,” Kyungsoo urges with eyes wide open and he looks at Baekhyun, mouthing a ‘shut the fuck up’ that Jongin wouldn’t have lip-read if he hadn’t been so focused on the junior’s face, “I’ll meet you at your dorm around nine.”  
  
The oldest chuckles and glances at Jongin before he nods at his best friend.  
  
“I’ll see you there, then. Bye Jongin,” he concludes before he leaves, not without squeezing Kyungsoo’s right cheek and getting his hand slapped away.  
  
“Sorry about that,” the red-haired male apologizes once the senior has disappeared, “He can be a little pushy sometimes.”  
  
Jongin shakes his head and assures him it’s fine.  
  
“Anyway, weren’t about to ask me something before he showed up ?”  
  
‘ _So you never slept with a girl ?_ ’  
That’s what Jongin wanted to say earlier. But bubbly-mouth-Baekhyun had kind of provided an answer by bringing up this Joohyun person.  
Kyungsoo was nothing less than perfect, and if he had been in a relationship with that girl, there was approximatively zero chance they only played Cluedo whenever they were alone.  
  
“I don’t remember. Guess it wasn’t important,” Jongin dismisses, waving his hand.  
  
“Are you sure ?” Kyungsoo insists. He only earns a nod from the sophomore student, “Then why do you look so gloomy all the sudden ?”  
  
“I’m not gloomy !” Jongin quickly says, shaking his head.  
  
“If you say so... But you know you can talk to me freely, right ?” the older points out, staring at him with an intense and serious face, “Anytime. I’m not just your tutor. We’re friends, aren’t we ?”  
  
Jongin lifts up his eyes from his notepad and dives in Kyungsoo’s genuine eyes, before he hesitantly nods.  
  
Friends.  
  
Jongin doesn’t know how to process that. Of course, a part of him is more than happy Kyungsoo considers him as a friend. Even though the older is popular, he doesn’t go befriending everyone and their moms. He has a very restricted list of close friends. And if Jongin’s name is on it, then the boy knows he should be content with that.  
But another part of him, the one that mentally squeals every time Kyungsoo smiles at him, the one that gives him tummy’s butterflies and poppy cheeks whenever the older pronounces his name in that deep voice of his ; that part can help but be a little disappointed.  
No, he doesn’t want to be _just_ Kyungsoo’s friend. He wants much, _much_ more.  
  
But he wouldn’t dare saying those words out loud. So he opts for something else that still is in the back of his mind since earlier.  
  
“What about Nayeon ?”  
  
“What about her ?” Kyungsoo answers back, a confused expression painted on his face at the sudden mention of the girl.  
  
“You said...you said you weren’t dating anyone. Does _she_ know you’re not dating her ?”  
  
Okay, maybe Jongin sounds a little too involved in this when really, it’s none of this business. But as usual when he is with the sophomore, Kyungsoo just laughs.  
  
“She knows. She’s just really stubborn. Always has been.”  
  
“Then maybe you shouldn’t be so affectionate with her if you don’t want to give her hope,” Jongin mumbles, frowning. Then his eyes instantly widen and he looks up at Kyungsoo with a panicked face, “Oh my god, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean- I just- It wasn’t my place to say that, I’m really sorry,” he rushes, biting his lips, eyes dropped on his lap.  
  
But Kyungsoo doesn’t seem to be mad.  
  
“No you’re right,” he sadly smiles, “I shouldn’t. But she’s adorable and I can’t bear to be cold with her.” Jongin nods and Kyungsoo continues, “I’ve known her since she was just a baby. But I only see her as my friend’s cute younger sister. You don’t have to worry.”  
  
The end forces Jongin to look back up hurriedly.  
  
“I-I’m not worried !”  
  
“Okay...” Kyungsoo smirks, clearly not convinced.  
  
“Why would I be ?” the sophomore awkwardly chuckles.  
  
“No reason, I guess.”  
  
It’s obvious on Kyungsoo’s face. He does not believe him, but probably because he can see how uncomfortable Jongin is at the moment, he apparently decides not to insist and changes the subject. Or actually goes back to a previous topic.  
  
“I haven’t seen you around for a good week, by the way... Where have you been ?” he asks calmly, nonchalantly grabbing his phone again before he resumes his scrolling motion as Jongin’s fingers fiddle with his pen.  
  
“Uhm, I’ve been...busy,” the black-haired sophomore lies after he clears his throat.  
  
“Really ?” There’s an amused skeptical tone in his voice, “Cause it looked a lot like you were avoiding me.”  
  
Jongin shakes his head then opens and closes his mouth a few times.  
  
_Fuck_.  
  
“No, no, I just...”  
  
“I saw you dodge behind a wall when I walked in the third floor hallway on Friday...” Kyungsoo snorts, eyes still on his phone screen.  
  
Jongin watches the junior double-tap his screen and scroll down some more.  
  
Is it too late for his plan to move out in Antarctica ?  
  
“Uhm, I was kind of...embarrassed. After, you know...”  
  
_Of course he knows_.  
  
“Well, I sure was surprised when I opened the file.” Jongin wants to die. Again, “But I got hooked and kept reading. You definitely know how to captivate your readers,” Kyungsoo finishes, eyes looking up at Jongin with a side grin.  
  
And for some reason, that smile eases some of Jongin’s mortification.  
  
“I’m glad you find the situation amusing,“ he says sarcastically, “I nearly got an aneurysm after I sent that email, you know,” he ends, scrunching up his nose.  
  
And Kyungsoo laughter is loud and joyful, attracting attention around them.  
  
“Well, I may have laughed when I saw the name of the file. Not while reading it, though. It was pretty...intense. And hot, I must admit. I liked it, for real,” the junior assures with a sincere look on his face, “So don’t fret about it, okay ?”  
  
Jongin takes a few seconds before he nods and bites his bottom lip as he shyly smiles at his tutor.  
  
They part a little while after, and as Jongin climbs up the stairs to his dorm room, he texts his best friend.  
  
  
To : **Soojung** ✿  
7:22pm- _  
ASDFHFKFDBP He doesn’t think I’m a creep ! He even said he liked my writing !_  
  
From : **Soojung** ✿  
7:23pm- _  
Told ya._  
  
To : **Soojung** ✿  
7:23pm- _  
HE SAID WE’RE FRIENDZZZ ! AND HE KEPT SMILING AT ME_  
  
From : **Soojung** ✿  
7:24pm- _  
Good. You can stop screaming._  
  
To : **Soojung** ✿  
7:25pm- _  
SHUT UP ! HE EVEN DEFENDED ME WHEN BAEKHYUN WAS ANNOYING ME !!!!_  
  
From : **Soojung** ✿  
7:26pm- _  
Okay, marry him then. Now STOP THE CAPS LOCK!_  
  
To : **Soojung** ✿  
7:26pm- _  
<3  
  
  
_Just when he arrives in front of his door and he is about to grab his keys, the device buzzes again and he smiles, sure Soojung sent him another supposedly cold message.  
His eyes widen though, when he sees his tutor’s name on his screen.

  
  
From : **Kyungsoo hyung** ♥‿♥  **  
** 7:28pm- _  
You can send me the next chapter when it’s written if you need some feedback before you post it ;)_

  
  
The noise that comes out of Jongin’s mouth definitely doesn’t sound human. His crush is _so_ getting out of hand.  
  
And he knows his face currently looks exactly like the text emoji he saved after his tutor’s contact name. _  
  
  
_ \- - -  
  
  
Later that night, comfortably tucked under his bed cover, Jongin opens Instagram to see what’s new on his friends’ feeds, just as he does every night before he goes to sleep.  
  
He likes the series of artsy grunge pictures Soojung posted that night – Jongin has to admit, her feed is pretty cool, compared to his completely random one stuffed with shots of food, puppies and overly filtered selfies. A few more double-taps here and there and with another swipe up of his thumb, his eyes stop on a picture he isn’t sure he enjoys looking at or not.  
  
Burgundy hair glowing under the kaleidoscopic lights that illuminate the dark room, a half filled red cup in hand, Kyungsoo beams at the camera, left arm thrown around the neck of an equally happy-looking girl with long rose-gold hair. Her upper body is flushed against the junior’s side, arms wrapped around his waist, cheek pressed next to his neck. In the background, Jongin spots Baekhyun making an obscene gesture with his hand in front of his mouth, tongue poking the inside of his cheek as he eyes the two of them.  
  
Sure, Kyungsoo looks positively gorgeous on the portrait and his eyes sparkle from evident glee. That is enugh to have Jongin’s heart fluttering. However, he can’t help but frown at the way the girl envelops the junior’s strong body and leans on him as if she was letting Kyungsoo support her whole weight. Jongin doesn’t recognize her face but after a quick look at the caption, he releases a bitter sigh.  
  
  
**jong.dino.dae** Old lovers trying to reignite the fire ! Haha so cute ! _@d.o.xid_ & _@joohyunnie_cutie_ You go guys ! _#notinmybedroomplz #princecharmingsavedthedamselindistress #thxforherface  
_  
  
And the comments don’t help cheering the sophomore up.  
  
  
**fabulous_baek**  I look so fab behind you :’)  
  
**d.o.xid** Jongdae STFU xD  
  
**chanloey61** WE’RE OUT OF RHUM  
  
**joohyunnie_cutie**  hahahaha jongdea somoene’s alreadyy in your berdoom anywvay  
  
**jong.dino.dae** WHATT  
  
**fabulous_baek**  Chanyeol turned into Jack Sparrow woaaah  
  
**chanloey61** CAPTAIN jack sparrow  
  
**fabulous_baek** lololol omfg look at Nayeon in the back tho xD !!!!! the green monster is possessing heeeer !!!! _@shyshyshy.nayeona_  
  
**shyshyshy.nayeona** _@fabulous_baek_ Not funny oppa...  
  
**jong.dino.dae** I ship the KyungJoo :3 Sorry _@shyshyshy.nayeona_  
  
  
Indeed, after he takes a closer look, sure enough, behind the duo, Jongin finds Nayeon who gives the stink eye to Joohyun, clearly not pleased with how close the two are.  
At least Jongin feels less alone in this.

With a dramatic huff, the sophomore takes a screenshot of both picture and comments and sends them right away to Soojung with a somber “ _bleh_ > **︵** < !”  
  
  
From : **Soojung** ✿  
11:56pm- _  
:/ I’m sorry Nini_  
  
  
His phone gets abandoned somewhere on his bed and he allows himself to mope as he slowly drifts into slumber, sour thoughts twirling in his mind. For once in his life, he starts regretting his systematic decision to never go out and study instead. For once he feels like he wouldn’t have been so bad to say yes when Baekhyun suggested he came to the party. For the first time, he begins to wonder if reaching his dream could be done without having to isolate himself from actually _enjoying his life_.  


* * *

 

“You’ve been avoiding me again...”  
  
Jongin lifts his eyes from his half empty plate of mushy green beans to watch Kyungsoo take a sit on the chair in front of him.  
  
Earlier that day, Sehun told him he needed to work on some paper for his Genetics class – Jongin still couldn’t get why the boy majored in Biology since he hated anything that had to do with Science back in high school – so the Literature major had been sitting alone at the cafeteria table for the past fifteen minutes.  
This was apparently the cue for his tutor to corner him without anyone being able to eavesdrop their conversation.  
  
True, the sophomore had indeed tried to avoid Kyungsoo. He had been very careful to always be with someone, and often used the “ _oh wait I need to *insert whatever seems fit* over there_ ” excuse to drag whoever he was with somewhere else whenever Kyungsoo looked like he wanted to come and talk to him.  
  
Of course, he would never admit he started after that fateful picture had been posted on Jongdae’s Instagram feed. He would also never tell anyone he frequently went back to check it, nor would he confess the growing number of likes and comments cheering for the “couple” annoyed him way more than it should.  
He knew he had absolutely no right to be sad, or angry. Or even just bothered. It shouldn’t even matter. Kyungsoo was his tutor – friend, kind of, maybe – and it was none of Jongin business who the junior dated – or slept with, whatever was going on between him and that Bae Joohyun.  
  
So he made a point of avoiding the red-haired male, since he knew his irritation would undoubtedly show if he ended up talking to Kyungsoo. And for the three past weeks, he had managed to successfully dodge his way out of an encounter with him and only texted him twice to tell him he was doing fine with his classes and didn’t need any help at the moment as well as a mere “Thank you” when Kyungsoo wrote back to feel free to contact him whenever the sophomore wanted or needed him. With a freaking _winking_ emoji at the end.  
  
Needless to say, seeing the junior comfortably lean back on his chair, his lips stretched in a cocky smile, wasn’t exactly what Jongin expected to happen during his lonely lunch break. However, he wasn’t about to be rude by just standing and leaving without a word. So Jongin merely shakes his head no and goes back to lazily mash his food, turning it into a disgusting looking green paste. _Yummy_.  
  
“No ? Really ? Cause it sure looks like it,” the redhaired junior declares and Jongin can hear he is kind of annoyed. Maybe even a bit upset, as off-character as that would be.  
  
“I’m not avoiding you, hyung.”  
  
“Then why are you suddenly fleeing whenever you see me ? Sometimes it feels like you have teleporting skills, seeing how fast you disappear...”  
  
“I’ve just been really busy. Homework and...stuff,” Jongin tries to explain, and he sounds like he is trying to convince himself even to his own ears.  
  
The little sigh that follows his answer makes him look up, just to check if he managed to piss off the forever calm boy. Not that he wants to, of course.  
  
“Okay, I’m gonna pretend I believe you,” Kyungsoo says with a little roll of his eyes, “So you’re doing fine with your assignments ?” he gently asks then.  
  
Jongin tries to hide his wince, thinking about the paper he wrote the night before, perpetually writing, deleting, writing, deleting on a never-ending loop. As much as he tried, he couldn’t find a good angle to approach the subject he had to cover. Kyungsoo could’ve helped him, but he had stubbornly refused to give in and text the older male.  
  
“Yeah, I’m doing alright,” he eludes.  
  
And it’s not exactly untrue. He has been doing good on everything else. Not _great_ , but good enough. He blames his brain for being distracted thinking about his tutor. But he manages.  
  
“You can’t lie for shit, you know that ?” Kyungsoo suddenly chuckles, shaking his head, and Jongin sighs.  
  
The sophomore adverts his gaze somewhere else than the red-haired male and his eyes catch Joohyun staring at him. She’s sitting at Kyungsoo’s regular table and doesn’t even pretend she’s listening to what Jongdae tells her. Not used to seeing her there, Jongin connects the dots, confirming his doubts, and goes back looking at his plate.  
  
“You should go back to your table, Joohyun-ssi is glaring at me for stealing your time.”  
  
“What ?” Kyungsoo briefly turns his head towards her and lets out a little laugh, “No she’s not.”  
  
“Really, I don’t want any problem with your girlfriend. I’m fine eating on my own,” Jongin assures, himself surprised that he sounds so confident when he’s really anything but.  
  
“What are you talking about ? Joohyun’s not my girlfriend.” Kyungsoo blinks, frowning.  
  
“Then why is she throwing imaginary daggers at me like that ?” Jongin counters, clearly unconvinced.  
  
A new short chuckle comes out of his tutor’s lips.  
  
“No, that’s really _not_ why she’s looking at us, trust me,” the junior smirks, “When I said I was coming to talk to you, she asked me to try and find out why your friend wasn’t here today,” he explains, still with that cocky smile.  
  
“My-...  Sehun ?” Jongin asks, pausing for a second in the middle until the words finally make sense in his head.  
  
“ _Your_ Sehun ?” Kyungsoo asks, and he suddenly looks anxious, “Wait, are your two dating ?”  
  
“What ? No ! Ew !” the younger is quick to clarify, “I just- It’s because you-… Anyway. He’s in the library, working on an essay.”  
  
Kyungsoo grabs his phone from his pocket and swiftly types a text message probably destined to Joohyun, seeing how the girl stands up and leaves the cafeteria with a little wave for the both of them.  
  
“Why did she want to know where he is ?” the junior then asks, a bit surprised by the girl’s change of reaction.  
  
“She wants to ask him about his older brother. The guy was at a party last week and he and Joohyun _heavily_ flirted the whole night. But she forgot to ask him for his phone number, so...”  
  
Jongin cocks an eyebrow, confused. As far as he knows, Seyoung has been in a relationship for the past three years.  
  
_Uh oh._  
  
Jongin suddenly frowns.  
  
“But wait... What about that picture Jongdae hyung posted on Instagram a few weeks ago ?”  
  
“What picture ?” Kyungsoo inquires, as he lightly smiles at Jongin’s reactions.  
  
“The one where you looked all lovey-dovey with her !” he replies, voice raising a bit and arms illustrating the way Joohyun hugged him closely, “The caption said you got back together or something like that !”  
  
Alright, Jongin admits he could have tried to at least sound a tiny bit less grumpy – almost offended – about it. But apparently, it doesn’t bother Kyungsoo, who just keeps his grin as he seemingly remembers.  
  
“She drank a tad too much that night. Well, so did I,” he starts, making a face, “She tends to get a little...touchy-feely when alcohol is involved. You can go check her account, she took pictures like that with _a lot_ of people during the party. Jongdae just thought this one was funny cause she literally fell into my arms a few seconds before, after she tripped on air. Didn’t you read his hashtags ?”  
  
“You didn’t seem to mind having her in your arms, though,” Jongin counters in a grouchy tone, before he immediately apologizes.  
  
Kyungsoo just laughs it off, as he always seems to do.  
  
“You’re right, I didn’t,” he asserts and Jongin feels a pinch in his heart, “I was glad I managed to catch her before she faceplanted on the floor. And we might have dated long ago, but we stayed friends. I don’t mind taking pictures with my friends.”  
  
“So you didn’t...get back together ?” the sophomore questions, eyes boring into Kyungsoo’s.  
  
“No we didn’t. And we won’t. I told you I wasn’t into girls lately,” the older seriously answers as he stares back and realization dawns on Jongin.  
  
“But then...” Jongin starts, and his eyes widen, upper lip writhing up, “Then why did I try so hard to avoid you ?!” he exclaims vehemently, then groans and lets his forehead bang on the table, barely missing his plate.  
  
A loud and joyful laughter instantly echoes in front of him and he can easily imagine Kyungsoo’s eyes scrunching and his mouth drawing a pretty heart.  
It takes a long minute for the junior to calm himself down, during which Jongin just childishly flails in his chair, head still connected to the cold white surface.  
  
“I knew you weren’t actually _that_ busy !” Kyungsoo chortles, still trying to get his amusement under control.  
  
“I was !” Jongin interjects, jerking up abruptly, “But okay, I might have also been avoiding you. A little.”  
  
“You seriously need to learn not to jump to conclusions and to _talk_ to people.”  
  
Kyungsoo shakes his head, laughter still evident in his eyes and Jongin just shrugs.  
  
“I guess, yeah.”  
  
“I’m curious, though,” the junior continues and lightly tilts his head, “Why would you avoid me even if she was my girlfriend ?”  
  
Eyes growing twice their usual size, Jongin starts to stutter, cheeks on fire.  
  
“I-I uhm... It’s just- She- I mean... I wouldn’t want to...uhm... You know...”  
  
“No I don’t, that’s why I’m asking,” Kyungsoo snickers.  
  
“I just didn’t want you to, uhm...” His brain’s cells overheating, he tries to come up with a logic answer, “Just...didn’t want you to be forced to spend time with me when you could’ve been with her,” he ends with a little nod, almost proud of himself.  
  
_Almost_.  
  
Kyungsoo doesn’t answer and just looks at the sophomore’s crimson face. His staring gets however interrupted by Jongdae who calls him from the other side of the cafeteria. And after gesturing at his friend that he is coming back, the older stands, brushes invisible dust from his thighs and takes a first step away.  
  
But just when Jongin is about to let out a relieved sigh, Kyungsoo turns around, cocky grin back to stretch his plump lips.  
  
“I said it already, but I’ll repeat myself. You _really_ don’t know how to lie, Jongin. I’ll see you tomorrow for your tutoring session.”  
  
With that, he walks away, not even waiting for a confirmation and leaving a flustered mess behind him.  
  
And later that night, as Jongin finishes to edit the new chapter of his fanfiction, he’s still thinking about the whole conversation he had with his tutor. Why do every words Kyungsoo speaks sound like they have a hidden meaning Jongin is supposed to get, but doesn’t ? _  
  
  
_ \- - -  
  
  
As he pointed it out before, Jongin is used to be interrupted during his tutoring session. There is always someone – or several someone’s, actually – who stops by to make conversation with Kyungsoo. Always. And usually, Jongin doesn’t mind. Of course, he’d prefer to have Kyungsoo only to himself – _at least_ during their sessions – but he also knows he isn’t in a position where he can complain about it.  
  
Kyungsoo has curiously been trying to keep the conversations with the random uninvited guests as short as possible for the past two weeks. Jongin tries not to link it with their discussion in the cafeteria, though.  
  
But today, the incessant distractions annoy him each time a little more.  
  
He had already woken up in a bad mood that morning, after he slept through both his alarms and arrived late in class. Then, his Poetry class’ teacher gave him back his last assignment and the B scribbled in red marker kept flashing behind Jongin’s eyelids every time he blinked, taunting him aggravatingly throughout the day. He tried to get some more sleep during lunch, forsaking his full plate and leaning on the table, eyes closed, next to a silent Sehun happily munching on his fried rice. However, a freshman had somehow tripped when she passed behind them, and her open can of soda ended up its flight on Jongin plaid shirt, liquid splashing on his messy hair and sticking to his face and nape.  
  
Needless to say, the sophomore wasn’t exactly in his best disposition when he sat down at his usual table for his tutoring session. Kyungsoo apparently noticed but had been considerate enough to not point it out. Jongin was eternally grateful for that.  
The session could’ve gone just fine. If it weren’t for the fact that Jongin was struggling to find a good way to conclude one of his essay – and the previously mentioned mark, along with its comment that said “ _Your conclusion seems a little off_ ” didn’t help him. At all.  
  
So when yet another random person approaches their table, Jongin finally snaps.  
  
“Seriously ? Can’t you people see we’re busy here ?” he spits and he throws his pencil on the table as he sends a glare to the girl who cut Kyungsoo in the middle of the advice he was giving to Jongin.  
  
The girl’s eyes widen, her hand hovering over Kyungsoo’s shoulder where she was about to place it a second before.  
  
“Excuse me ?” she frowns.  
  
“Look, I know you all want to get Kyungsoo hyung’s attention but couldn’t you fucking wait until I’m not here, trying to work ?” Jongin barks, gritting his teeth, still glowering at her.  
  
“Who the hell do you think you are ?” she fights back, crossing her arms before she takes a step closer to Kyungsoo, leaning her weight on her right leg so her hip brushes against the red-haired male’s arm.  
  
In the corner of Jongin’s vision, he sees Kyungsoo moves a bit away.  
  
“Junghwa, calm down,” the junior softly scolds her, “He’s right, we’re trying to get some work done here so-“  
  
“But you were on your phone just before talking to him !” she cuts him off, “You looked bored like hell !”  
  
Jongin tries to keep his calm. He really, _really_ tries. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. But that girl...  
Kyungsoo might have notice he was close to flip the table – figuratively and literally – because he doesn’t let a second pass before he speaks up again.  
  
“I wasn’t bored, I was letting him organize his thoughts. Not that it’s any of your business, though,” he coldly adds and Jongin’s eyes shoot open at the unusual iciness of his tone, “I’ll talk to you later, Junghwa,” he concludes before he turns away from the girl to let her know the conversation is over and she no longer has his attention.  
  
With a dejected expression, Junghwa sends an angry glare towards Jongin before she stomps away.  
  
Jongin sighs, the tension dropping.  
  
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to be mean,” he says. He doesn’t even dare to look at Kyungsoo.  
  
“It’s okay, don’t worry. I’m the one who should be sorry.”  
  
“No, no, it’s fine.” Jongin shakes his head and looks up to see Kyungsoo’s apologetic smile.  
  
“No it’s not. I didn’t realize it bothered you that much.”  
  
And Jongin really, _really_ doesn’t like the frown between the older’s eyebrows.  
  
“It doesn’t bother me !” he assures quickly, “I just...ugh, I’m in a crappy mood today. Sorry. I should go apologize to her. She’s your friend, I don’t want her to be mad at you because of me.”  
  
“She’ll live,” Kyungsoo chuckles before the younger can fully stand up, “But...do you wanna go somewhere else ? Some place we can’t be interrupted as often ?” he inquires, and he sounds almost hesitant.  
  
For a second, Jongin internally freaks out. Both because of the idea of being finally completely alone with his crush, and also because he hopes the junior won’t suggest they go to the younger’s place.  
  
“Uhm yeah, that’s d be nice but...my dorm room is kinda...messy. I was late this morning, so...” the sophomore utters, brain overheating as he tries to find an alternative.  
  
“It’s fine, I have an idea,” Kyungsoo smiles before he stands, “Come on, pack your stuff.”  
  
After a ten-minute walk in the chilly November wind, Kyungsoo pushes the door of a little café, kind of hidden between a library and a veterinary office. The _Crackerbox_ is a little cozy place Jongin instantly likes. The warm color-palette, going from tables made out of dark wood, to chocolate brown pieces of furniture accented with golden accessories here and there, immediately gives him a feeling of comfort, enhanced even more by the light jazzy music coming out of the speakers on the walls and the smell of freshly baked pastries Jongin can practically taste on his tongue.  
  
As Kyungsoo leads him towards what seems to be a backroom – or maybe the kitchen ? – the sophomore is surprised to see his tutor greet the man behind the counter with a fist-bump.  
Is Kyungsoo a regular here ?  
  
“Your shift isn’t until another two hours, whatcha doing here men ? And who’s this cutie you brought with you ?” another guy asks, coming out of what is definitely the kitchen, judging by the wave of deliciously smelling air that entered the room with him.  
  
Jongin is so distracted by the smell he almost misses Kyungsoo’s answer.  
  
“Hey boss. That’s Kim Jongin, he’s a Lit’ major too. I was hoping we could use your office for a little while. We need to study. _In peace_ ,” the junior ends, emphasizing the last words, like he was trying to convey a precise and important message.  
  
“Kim Jongin, uh ?” the man – boss ? – seemingly teases Kyungsoo, with a wiggle of his eyebrows, “Sure, use my office. Keep it out of the desk if you feel like studying isn’t the plan anymore, yeah ?” he winks and Jongin watches as Kyungsoo’s eyes considerably widen and he hisses a few indecipherable words before he lightly punches the man’s ribs.  
  
The junior motions for Jongin to follow him a moment later.  They enter a tiny room only furnished by a desk collapsing under the weight of too many papers covered in numbers, and a square coffee table where a printer, a few folders and a precariously tilted vase fight for dominance. As Jongin takes it all in, the door behind him opens again and the man who was previously at the counter – his name tag reads Ryeowook – comes in, places a chair on each side of the desk, and sends a wink towards Kyungsoo before he leaves.  
  
“Don’t mind him,” the red-haired male says, probably amused by Jongin confused face. But then, he must look really, _really_ lost, because Kyungsoo gives a little more information without being asked, “I work here part-time so I can afford private vocal lessons.”  
  
That seems to finally put Jongin’s brain into functioning mode.  
  
“You sing ?” he inquires, trying to sound nonchalant as he sits down and opens his backpack while the older gathers all the document on the desk into a messy pile he sets aside.  
  
“Yeah. But don’t tell anyone.” Kyungsoo’s tone is a little secretive, “I made sure to choose a teacher that lives outside of town so I wouldn’t bump into people from uni.”  
  
_So I’m the first person he tells about it ?_ Jongin thinks, but he quickly realizes Baekhyun might actually know too. Or maybe not ? Maybe with his loud-mouthed personality, Kyungsoo would especially avoid telling him so he wouldn’t ‘accidentally’ blabber about it.  
  
“Make yourself comfortable, I’ll be back in a minute,” the junior smiles at him after he shrugs off his jacket and throws it on his chair.  
  
Jongin then takes a deep breath, the sweet scent a bit less present in the office and leans back in his sit. He can’t help but be happy to finally have some one on one time with his tutor. Sunbae. Hyung. Crush. Friend. Jongin still isn’t sure how to define him, them, but he likes the fact that Kyungsoo brought him here to study. In a way, it feels like he almost shares a secret with the junior. Even if a part of Jongin’s mind is down to earth enough to figure out Kyungsoo most likely just wanted to avoid losing any more of his friends due to moody-Jongin’s figuratively jumping at their throats. Of course, he feels guilty, and he still plans on apologizing to the poor girl he snapped at. But the guiltiness is somehow overpowered by the contentment to be alone with the red-haired male. Jongin will have time to scold himself later.  
  
Kyungsoo suddenly enters the room, cutting the sophomore in his thoughts. He is holding two big golden mugs as he carefully walks to avoid spilling any liquid from the fully filled cups.  
  
At Jongin’s curious face, the older smiles.  
  
“I saw you binge-drinking espresso shots pretty often this past year. I figured you could use one right now,” he says as he sits, "I’m more of a Cappuccino kind of guy,” he adds with a little smile when the sophomore gives the second mug an inquiring look.  
  
Jongin doesn’t tell him he actually hates coffee. He doesn’t tell him it only serves him as a fuel to stay awake. He just whispers a quiet “thank you”, grabs his own cup and tries not to wince too obviously when he takes a tiny gulp of the bitter hot liquid. If Kyungsoo took the time to make one just for him, Jongin isn’t about to refuse it.  
  
“So, where were we before Junghwa came up and jeopardize our session ?”  
  
Jongin blushes at the reminder of his earlier lash out.  
  
“Uhm...desperately trying to come up with a conclusion that doesn’t ruin everything.”  
  
“Right !” Kyungsoo chuckles and leans forward on the desk across Jongin to peek over the younger notepad, “Any progress made ?”  
  
“Not really. I feel like I’m stuck on everything I write these days. It’s really frustrating.”  
  
Now, Jongin isn’t the type of person who likes to complain – or at least not _out loud_. And he definitely shouldn’t start doing it with _Kyungsoo_ , out of all people. But fuck it. For once he will allow himself to be whiny for a moment. Because Kyungsoo is looking at him like he is _interested_ in whatever he has to say, and his eyes make Jongin want to spill out _everything_. So he keeps going. Add “regret being a cry baby” to the list of things he will have time to do later.  
  
“I feel like crap when this kind of stuff happens. Today has just been a series of bad shit one after the other and I just...ugh. I’m actually pissed off myself cause I know I should just man up and fucking move on but, like, I’m trying so hard ! And what did Professor Nam mean by ‘ _your conclusion seems off_ ’ ?” he blabbers, impersonating his teacher in a whiny irritated – and irritating – voice, hands flailing, “I mean if you’re gonna give a critique, at least give a constructive one ! One I can work with ! He’s the teacher, right ? He’s supposed to _tell me_ what’s wrong with the damn conclusion, not just tell me it’s shit ! How can I fix it if I _don’t fucking know what there is to fix_ ?!” he spits angrily, clasping the mug of coffee in a tight grip, “And then there’s Sehun. Oh my god I can’t even ! He’s been fucking annoying me all morning because his brother broke up with his girlfriend last night. Why is he telling me all this ? I can’t fucking do anything about it ! Neither can he ! So why is he whining about it constantly ? I have other shit to focus on and I- I just… And _why_ am I even drinking this, I fucking hate coffee !!!” he finishes with a scrunched nose, harshly pushing away the mug in front of him in a surge of exasperation, lost in his angry monologue.  
  
...  
_Oops.  
Not good.  
Abort mission.  
Run. The. Fuck. Away._  
  
Jongin’s brain snaps back to reality and his eyes widen. This is bad. Really bad. Really, _really_ bad !  
  
But just as he is about to stand and flee – screw his bag and school stuff, he is ready to abandon them behind – Kyungsoo lets out a breathy chortle.  
  
“Wow. That was the longest I’ve heard you speak in one go ever since we met. And probably with the most swearing too.”  
  
For some reason, Jongin detects amusement in the older’s tone. Which is surprising _and_ weird, given the situation. But it kind of compels him to look up. And what he finds on Kyungsoo’s face is even more disconcerting.  
  
The red-haired male’s chin rests on his palm, elbow propped on the desk. His eyes are twinkling, fixed on Jongin’s face and his smile is way too bright for the younger to handle or even comprehend. Why on earth would he look so...thrilled ? Pleased ? Almost captivated, too.  
But as he processes Kyungsoo’s words, Jongin’s embarrassment hits him full force and he blushes profusely.  
  
“I- I’m sorry. I didn’t- I mean-... Sorry...” he stutters and hides his face in his hands, “I didn’t mean it. About the coffee. I’m sorry. You made it for me, and I- Ugh... Sorry,” he sighs, voice muffled in his palms.  
  
“Don’t apologize. It’s nice to see you’re not as flawless as you seem.”  
  
“What ?” Jongin’s head shoots up to see Kyungsoo side grin.  
  
“It actually makes you even more perfect, I guess, as paradoxical as it sounds.”  
  
The sophomore’s eyes are so wide open, they’re seconds away from popping out of their sockets as he gasps on air like a fish out of water.  
  
But any question he could’ve uttered after Kyungsoo’s statement is cut off by the door opening and the older’s boss who comes in, a tray full of pastries in hand.  
  
“Here’s a little reward for studying hard, kids ! I didn’t know what you liked, Jongin, so I brought a little bit of everything !” he says before he places the tray on the desk, apparently remembering his name, then stops, assessing the mood – well, mostly Jongin’s crimson face and Kyungsoo’s smirk. “Am I interrupting something ?”  
  
“No, hyung, don’t worry. Thank you for the pastries,” Kyungsoo is quick to answer.  
  
Eyes narrowed, the tall man’s gaze alternates a few times before the two younger boys, before he nods and exits the office, leaving Jongin in panic mode once again.  
  
“Since you don’t like coffee, is there anything else you wanna drink ?” Kyungsoo questions nonchalantly.  
  
Is he really going to act as if what Jongin said earlier is completely normal ?  
  
The younger blinks at him for a few seconds, then shakes his head.  
  
“No, it’s fine. I’ll drink it,” he softly voiced and grabs the mug. Only for Kyungsoo to reach out and take it away from his grasp.  
  
“Don’t be silly. Why would you force yourself to drink something you don’t like ?”  
  
“But you made it for me…” the he sighs, tone contrite.  
  
“That’s not a valid reason, Jongin. It’s even my fault for assuming things instead of just asking you. Come on, what do you want ?”  
  
After a quick pondering – and trying not to melt at the way the other pronounces his name in a deep voice –, Jongin lifts his eyes to look at his tutor.  
  
“Do you make hot white chocolate here ?” he shyly speaks out, clasping his shaky hands on his lap before Kyungsoo offers him a dazzling smile.  
  
“We do ! Come with me, let’s make you one !” Kyungsoo cheerfully declares before he stands and extends a hand for Jongin to grab.  
  
It takes a good five seconds before the younger actually lifts his own hand and timidly presses it into Kyungsoo’s palm, immediately blushing when the junior closes his fingers tightly around it.  
  
They make their way out of the office and behind the counter of the main room, where Ryeowook is wiping a table near the entrance.  
  
Way too soon for Jongin’s liking, Kyungsoo releases his grip on his hand and claps.  
  
“Alright, let’s do this ! You’re gonna help me !”  
  
“What ? Why ?” Jongin panics, having absolutely no clue what all the different equipment is for.  
  
“So I don’t end up preparing you something you don’t like again,” the older chuckles, obviously teasing.  
  
Is it even possible for Jongin’s face to get any redder ? Apparently, yes. But before he can protest or apologize once again, Kyungsoo washed his hands and motions for him to do the same.  
  
The red-haired male grabs two metallic jugs and places them on the counter next to the imposing barista machine. In the smaller one, he drops two big measuring spoons of creamy-colored powder from a jar labelled as ‘ _White mocha chocolate_ ’, little puffs of dust swirling around his fingers.  
  
Jongin observes as Kyungsoo’s strong hands maneuver around, confidently handling every step, adding a few drops of what looks and smells like vanilla extract.  
  
“How long have you been working here ?”  
  
“Since the café opened, around two years ago,” the junior answers, pouring a little amount of cold milk in the same pitcher.  
  
“Really ?”  
  
“Yeah. It was a jewelry store before, but they moved out to a bigger boutique on a more frequented street and Siwon hyung bought this place. I had been looking for a part-time job for a little while, back then and one day, I was going to the library next door and I saw a sign saying they were looking for a barista slash waiter for the new café that was about to open. So I gave them my resume on the next day and boom.”  
  
Kyungsoo then energetically mixes everything with a weird looking silver utensil and taps the jug on the counter a few times once he is done.  
  
“That’s awesome.”  
  
“Is it ? I don’t know. But I like working here. It’s quiet and all my coworkers are really nice. It took me some time to handle all those big machines, though. Ryeowook hyung was close to give up on me back then,” the red-haired male chortles, voice louder at the end to be heard by said hyung as he sets the jug aside.  
  
“I sure was ! You made a mess so many times I stopped counting !” the colleague complains in an amused tone before he disappears in the kitchen.  
  
Kyungsoo’s laughter echoes in the warm room and Jongin’s stomach fizzles, eyes still staring at the older’s hands as he pours more milk in the second, bigger jug. Once the pitcher is three quarters full, he grabs a dark brown cloth and briefly presses a button on the barista machine.  
  
The sudden noise it makes as steam comes out of a long stick makes Jongin jump back in surprise with a gasp. He looks up at Kyungsoo when the older wipes the stick with the cloth, eyebrow rising under his messy bangs and eyes rounded in surprise.  
  
“Just purging the residual water. We don’t want any of that in your milk, do we ?”  
  
Jongin has no idea why, but he shakes his head no. If Kyungsoo says so, then the younger trusts him.  
  
Kyungsoo repeats the purge step a second time, puts the cloth back on the countertop and grabs the bigger jug.  
  
He exudes so much confidence that Jongin can’t help but stare in awe.  
  
Once he has placed the pitcher under the stick, Kyungsoo dips its tip just below the milk surface and presses the steam button again. The liquid starts moving, and Jongin leans forward to have a better view of the process, unintentionally – read, totally on purpose – brushing his upper arm against Kyungsoo’s shoulder.  
  
“What does that stick do ?” he asks and looks up at Kyungsoo’s face for a second.  
  
“It’s called a steam wand,” the older provides with a soft smile, eyes focused on his task, “It’s gonna create microfoam in the milk. Do you hear this little noise ?” Jongin nods and hums, now aware of the high-pitched sizzle rhythmically going on, “That’s the steam airing the milk and provoking little bubbles to swirl in it. And when the foam will start to grow up and thicken, I’ll lower the pitcher so the tip is always just below the surface. You can’t put it in too deep at the beginning.”  
  
And really, normal human beings are not supposed to get turned on by someone speaking of air and milk. But the way Kyungsoo speaks about it, with so much assurance, kind of makes him even more attractive.  
Confidence definitely is a trait Jongin likes, he thinks, unconsciously leaning a bit more towards Kyungsoo.  
  
“Okay, now put your palm under the pitcher. Feel how warm it is ?” the red-haired male outlines when Jongin complies and nods, “That’s our cue for the next step, watch. I’m gonna plunge the wand tip a tiny bit deeper and to the side of the jug,” he explains as he demonstrates, “It’s gonna give texture to the milk.”  
  
A little whirlpool starts to form in the white liquid and Jongin smiles, trying not to focus on the peculiar choices of words Kyungsoo keeps using.  
  
“The sound changed too !” he notices and Kyungsoo grins back, nodding, clearly content with Jongin’s enthusiasm.  
  
“Yes, now the power of the steam is making the milk spin around the jug and thoroughly mixes the air in it. It makes it thicker. And creamier. That’s the consistency we want in our mouth, right ?”  
  
Again, Jongin attempts to ignore the evident innuendo but can’t help but release a shaky exhale just as Kyungsoo presses the same button again, stopping the steam, and removes the jug carefully.  
  
“Would you wipe the wand for me, Jongin ?” the older innocently invites and the sophomore hears snorts coming from the kitchen, “It gets sticky if we don’t clean it right after.”  
  
Briefly closing his eyes to fight the graphic images flooding in his mind, Jongin grabs the cloth and quickly cleans the white liquid off the stick, feeling its heat through the fabric.  
  
Kyungsoo professionally taps the pitcher on the counter a few times until all the air bubbles on the surface are gone, as he explains.  
He snatches a white mug with a golden heart painted on the side – Jongin decides to see it as a random pick, though – and pours the first mix he made. Then he reaches for the bigger pitcher and carefully lets the creamy white liquid sink in the cup.  
  
Once he is done, he turns his eyes to Jongin and grins.  
  
“Do you want whipped cream or do you like it raw ?”  
  
It takes every bit of Jongin’s control not to gasp. However, he doesn’t trust himself to speak without a shudder in his voice, so he simply nods, receiving yet another wry smile from his tutor.  
  
“Sweet tooth, uh ? Never would’ve guessed you were more into soft and smooth stuff...”  
  
The sophomore uses the time it takes to Kyungsoo to cover the preparation with whipped cream and sprinkle it with cocoa powder to calm himself, inhaling and exhaling slowly as he tries to make the explicit flashes of perverted fantasy disappear from his mind. He is sure his face is most likely garnet red at this moment  
  
“Here you go !” Kyungsoo finally declares, dropping a white straw into the full mug and holding it out for Jongin to take, before he places every utensil he used in the sink and motions for the younger to follow him back in the office.  
  
“I’m letting you wash the dishes, hyung !” Kyungsoo calls when they pass in front of the kitchen door.  
  
A muffled voice inside the room blurts out a scandalized “What ?” and Jongin giggles when he hears Kyungsoo’s mischievous answer.  
  
“Serves you right for eavesdropping !” the junior singsongs, patting the door twice.  
  
Later, when Jongin is about to leave, right before Kyungsoo’s shift at the café starts, he thanks the older once again, adjusting his backpack on his shoulder as he steps on the sidewalk, Kyungsoo holding the door open for him, chimes joyfully tinkling above his head.  
  
“For what exactly ?” Kyungsoo asks, smirking. Again.  
  
“Uhm...the drink ? And the help with my paper. And also for bringing me here, I guess.”  
  
“You’re welcome. By the way, I was thinking, how is your fanfiction going ?”  
  
And again – it feels like this has become a habit, really – Jongin’s eye widen.  
  
“I uhm...finished the new chapter. But I think it still needs a few more rounds of editing. I’m not...really happy with it yet,” he provides, remembering how dull the cliffhanger he wrote felt when he reread it.  
  
“Mmh, well if you need any help...you know my email address,” the red-haired mal offers.  
  
With. A. Wink.  
  
And Jongin wave comes a little too late as Kyungsoo has already walked back in the café. _  
  
  
_ \- - -  
  
  
Later this week, Jongin almost bumps into Baekhyun as he exits the campus’ library.  He opts for a respectful bow to greet the older male and is answered with a hand patting his shoulder.  
  
“Jongin, how are you ?” Then, without waiting for his answer, “Hey, we’re gonna celebrate Chanyeol’s birthday on Tuesday ! Wanna come ?” the biochem major blabbers.  
  
“Uhm, I-”  
  
“Kyungsoo will be here, of course,” the senior points out, as if this information could change Jongin’s predictable refusal.  
  
And it almost does. It’s pretty evident the red-haired male would be there, but Baekhyun reminder makes Jongin hesitate. For a second, at least.  
  
“Sorry, I don’t really go out on weekdays...” he explains with an apologetic smile.  
  
“You don’t go out during weekends either, though,” Baekhyun scoffs, “Anyway. Kyungsoo knew you’d say no. He even told me not to bother you by asking. That brat doesn’t get I’m just trying to help him,” he adds, throwing his arms in the air and rolling his eyes.  
  
Jongin isn’t sure why asking him to go to the party could help Kyungsoo – what would he even need help with ? – but he makes sure to politely bow again and apologizes in a breath.  
It stings that his tutor apparently told Baekhyun not to invite him. Even if it was probably out of consideration, since he anticipated Jongin was most likely going to decline the invitation. But still, Jongin can’t help but feel a little sad. If Kyungsoo had wanted him to come to the party, he wouldn’t have tried to deter his best friend.  
  
As he makes his way back to his dorm room, he quickly types on his phone, feeling unreasonably dejected.  
  
  
To : **Soojung** ✿  
6:49pm- _  
It sucks to have a crush_ ;︵;  
  
From : **Soojung** ✿  
6:50pm- _  
Trust me, I know.  
  
  
_ When Tuesday night arrives, Jongin ends up feeling even worse as he scrolls through Instagram posts from the people he follows. Chanyeol keeps posting a lot of pictures that often features Kyungsoo, the junior looking devastatingly handsome with his grey beanie and light brown leather jacket, smiling for the camera – and Jongin’s heart sinks a little more with every shot that shows Kyungsoo posing while he stands close to someone different in all the pictures.

He still double taps a few of them and comments a supposedly cheerful ‘ _Happy birthday Chanyeol hyung !!! Hope you’re having fun !_ ’ under a group selfie. With two birthday cake emojis and a smiling one. They all feel bitter in his mind.  
  
  
\- - - **  
  
  
** The following week is a mess. Jongin brain seems to refuse to focus on his studies, and constantly flashes with thoughts of Kyungsoo. And it drives the sophomore completely crazy. Because out of all the times his mind could’ve decided to ruin his studying schedule, the week before the finals is unquestionably the worst moment ever. **  
  
** Kyungsoo’s face randomly pops up behind his eyelids whenever he takes more than half a second to blink. Every time a male speaks near him, his ears fool his mind into thinking it’s Kyungsoo’s voice. He even stares at Sehun’s hand once as the younger holds a glass of water, remembering how Kyungsoo’s hand looked around that golden mug and how it felt, wrapped around his own palm. **  
  
** And he slowly but surely goes nuts, earning weird looks from other students when he scolds himself out loud one day in the library, because ‘ _Seriously brain, can you fucking stop that ?_ ’. **  
  
** The only relief is that he doesn’t have to actually face his tutor, since the junior is just as busy studying as Jongin is.  Of course, Kyungsoo has more than once offered to help him and has reminded him to send a text if he needed anything, anytime. With four exclamation points – and the coffee cup emoji. Jongin politely refused. Half because Kyungsoo had to study too, and half because...well...previously mentioned reasons. Let’s be honest here, meeting the older male would undoubtedly fuck up his neurons’ functions even more. _  
  
  
_ \- - - **  
  
  
** That December 21th, the weather outside apparently decided to match Jongin’s mood.  
It’s cold. Really cold. And the incessant and heavy rain falls from the thick dark clouds, soaking the sophomore’s sweater as he walks to his dorm’s building, head hung low in defeat hidden under his hood. **  
  
** He had finished his last exam half an hour ago and hadn’t exactly nailed it. Just like almost every single one he went through during that week.  
He wouldn’t say he totally failed, but it was pretty clear his marks wouldn’t be on the highest side this time. And it pissed him off.  
His distracted – read, obsessed – brain kept up with its new habit of flashing him with ‘ _Oh hey, here’s Kyungsoo’s smiling face for you ! Enjoy !_ ’, even when he was in the middle of answering questions about a text from a Russian poet. Or when he listed some influential French writers two hours later. Even when he orally presented his researches for his creative writing exam three days after. For that, he still kind of blames one of the judges whose eyes were way too similar to Kyungsoo’s – just a lot less pretty. **  
  
** And all in all, he hadn’t been able to solely focus on what he should have. Even now, as he walks under the tsunami coming from the sky, his ears still send him wrong information, making him think Kyungsoo is calling his name. **  
  
** Wait a second. **  
  
** He stops his steps and listens carefully to the crackle of rain against the pavement. And actually hears it over the sizzle. **  
  
** “Jongin, wait !” **  
  
** He turns around and bits his lips, watching Kyungsoo who runs towards him, a clear umbrella above his head. **  
  
** “Wow, I’ve been calling your name and trying to catch up for five minutes now !” the older says in between short breaths, “Didn’t you hear me ?” **  
  
** “Sorry.” **  
  
** He had forgotten. After two weeks away from Kyungsoo, the younger forgot how it felt to be close to him. While he was completely distressed a minute before, seeing the junior in front of him after so long almost felt like he could normally breathe again. Nothing could be _that_ bad if Kyungsoo smiled at him so brightly. **  
  
** Right ? **  
  
** “So how did your exams go ?” **  
  
** Wrong. **  
  
** Jongin’s shoulders slump and he drops his head with a pathetic sigh. **  
  
** “Not good. Or at least, not as good as I’d like,” he answers and offers a joyless smile to somehow apologize for his gloomy mood, head still tilted down. **  
  
** The hand that suddenly squeezes his shoulder gently makes him look up and his eyes lock with Kyungsoo’s soft ones. He’s closer than Jongin thought, umbrella shielding the both of them from the heavy pouring rain. **  
  
** “It’s okay, you don’t have to get perfect marks every time, you know. It’s fine to fail every once in a while, even if I’m sure you did more than good enough,” the junior comforts him in a soothing voice, thumb brushing along his collarbone back and forth through his hoodie, “If it can help, I didn’t really...strike those exams either,” he adds, looking unexpectedly embarrassed as he drops his hand. **  
  
** Jongin frowns, lightly tilting his head to the side. **  
  
** “Why not ?” he inquires, curiosity and concern replacing his disappointment. **  
  
** And ever more surprisingly, Kyungsoo _blushes_.  
Fiery cheeks aren’t something Jongin would’ve ever thought he would ever see on his face.  
It’s not the kind of light flushing when he’s given a compliment, or when he looks uncomfortable. That one, Jongin is familiar with whenever his own mouth slips and his adoration for everything the boy is or do gets uttered in a shy voice.  
But no. This is the kind of glowing red face coming from pure embarrassment – Jongin would know, he has mastered it since he met the man.  
And it’s even more disconcerting for Jongin. Because _what_ could’ve happen for the junior to react like that ? **  
  
** “Hyung ?” he insists when the silence stretches, the waterdrops pitter pat on the umbrella the only sound registering in Jongin’s mind. **  
  
** “I was kind of...worried ?” Kyungsoo cautiously says, visibly hesitant for some mysterious reason. “About a friend. I’ve learned over time he tends to be easily stressed out by school stuff. And exams make his anxiety level skyrocket. So yeah, I was a little...distracted.” **  
  
** “Oh. Did he do well ?” Jongin questions, a teeny bit relieved to know he isn’t the only one so stressed out. **  
  
** “He doesn’t think so.” **  
  
** “I’m sure he did, though.”  
  
“Yeah, that’s what I told him,” Kyungsoo emphasizes and looks at the sophomore straight in the eyes, “The thing is... During the whole week, I kept thinking I should’ve insisted more to help him study. I wasn’t persistent enough. I mean...I’m his tutor, so...” **  
  
** Something stirs in Jongin’s chest when he hears those words. **  
  
** “Oh, I- I didn’t know you were tutoring other students.” **  
  
** Immediately, guilt floods in his whole body. Did he take too much of Kyungsoo’s time for all these months ? Other people may have needed him more than Jongin did. After all, the younger isn’t falling behind, he should’ve been able to manage on his own, he chastises himself. And _of course_ Kyungsoo would tutor other students. He was nice like that, selflessly offering his time to guide others. Why had Jongin even thought he was the only lucky one to receive his help.  
However, Kyungsoo’s next words cut him short on his internal scolding. **  
  
** “I’m not.” **  
  
** Wait what ? **  
  
** “Oh... _Oh_ !” **  
  
** “Yeah... And I told him several times to call me if he needed any help, but he refused,” Kyungsoo continues, still acting as if he was talking about someone else than the boy in front of him, “So when he told me he didn’t think he did that well, I felt even worse.” **  
  
** “Maybe... Maybe he didn’t want to bother you since he knew you had to study too...” Jongin replies with a shy smile, keeping up with the act too since it makes the words easier to come out. **  
  
** “But I’m his tutor. I’m _supposed_ to help him. And I’m his _friend_ too. He should know he can come to me anytime. And he should know he never bothers me...” **  
  
** “I guess he’s a little stubborn,” Jongin awkwardly chuckles, fiddling with his fingers. **  
  
** “Well, that’s an understatement,” the older male agrees, the left corner of his lips pinched into a side smile he’s trying to hold back. **  
  
** And just like that, any trace of Jongin’s sadness disappears. **  
  
** Kyungsoo is right. It’s okay to fail occasionally. As long as you don’t give up when it happens. This is what makes someone strong too, right ? **  
  
** “You’re going back to your dorm room, aren’t you ?” Kyungsoo inquires, and Jongin nods, “Come on, let me walk you there. You’re drenched enough, I don’t want you to catch a cold. Why aren’t you wearing a jacket ?” **  
  
** “I forgot it in my room this morning. I was...distracted too.” **  
  
** “Yeah?” **  
  
** “Yeah. By a friend too. But for less altruist reasons, though.” **  
  
** Kyungsoo chortles and Jongin can finally breathe and smile freely as they start walking, forced to keep really, _really_ close to fit under the umbrella. Not that Jongin minds. **  
  
** Once they arrive in front of the dorm building’s entrance door, Kyungsoo doesn’t leave, as Jongin expected he would. He merely folds his umbrella back and sets it on the floor, against the wall, apparently intending on walking Jongin all the way to his room. **  
  
** “Won’t someone steal it if you let it here ?” **  
  
** “It’s okay, it’s Baekhyun’s,” Kyungsoo mischievously says and earns a giggle in response. **  
  
** They climb the stairs side by side. Their shoulders bump occasionally and Jongin has to fight his impulse to grab Kyungsoo’s hand. **  
  
** Finally standing in front of his door, he is about to unlock it, internally debating if it would be appropriate to invite Kyungsoo inside, when the junior speaks up. **  
  
** “So... I have somewhere I need to be in about twenty minutes, but... Okay look, you can totally say no, alright ? But I was thinking, the exams are over, winter break starts tomorrow and...” Kyungsoo hesitates and Jongin gives him a curious look to show he’s listening, “Well, if you want to, there’s a party tonight, and maybe you could...come ? It’s actually more like a little gathering, to celebrate the end of finals and, you know, having some fun before everyone go back to their families for Christmas. We’re just gonna have a few drinks in a bar, nothing huge or fancy. But it’s okay if you don’t want to ! I was just... It’d be nice if you were here.  You could bring Sehun too, if you’re worried to be around people you’re not really close to. But, like I said, it’s perfectly fine if you want to stay home and relax, I can understand, it was a stressful week and you-“ **  
  
** “Yeah, I’d like that,” Jongin shyly smiles, cutting the red-haired male’s blabber before he runs out of air. **  
  
** “What ?” **  
  
** Kyungsoo’s surprised face is so cute at that moment, Jongin could squeal. **  
  
** “It should be fun, right ? I’ll come !” he reiterates and nods to show he’s serious. **  
  
** “Really ?” Kyungsoo brightly beams at him, looking genuinely happy, “Cool ! Okay ! I’ll... I’ll text you the details later, where to meet us and when !” **  
  
** And he looks and sounds so excited that Jongin can’t help but chuckle. **  
  
** “Alright.” **  
  
** “Awesome. I need to go now but...yeah, see you tonight then ?” **  
  
** “Yep,” the younger confirms and he melts at the way Kyungsoo’s eyes sparkles and bites his smiling lip. **  
  
** If he had known earlier that _this_ would be the junior’s reaction, Jongin would’ve agreed to go to parties long ago ! **  
  
** The sophomore waves at Kyungsoo as the older male walks away, still looking positively delighted. He unlocks his door as soon as his tutor has disappeared and grabs his phone after throwing his keys on his unmade bed – yeah maybe it was a good thing the junior couldn’t stay. **  
  
  
** To : **Sehun :[**  
4:38pm- _  
Hey man, are you up for a party tonight ?_ **  
  
** From : **Sehun :[**  
4:39pm- _  
omg who r u and what have u done to Jongin???_ **  
  
** To : **Sehun :[**  
4:41pm- _  
Shut up xD Kyungsoo hyung invited me to a lil thing with his friends. Gonna grab a few drinks in a bar._ **  
  
** From : **Sehun :[**  
4:41pm- _  
:’) oh my baby grew up so fast_ **  
  
** To : **Sehun :[**  
4:42pm-  
_Shut. Up. Wanna come or no ?_ **  
  
** From : **Sehun :[**  
4:43pm- _  
hell yeah ! can’t miss drunk-u embarrassing urself in front of ur crush !_ **  
  
** To : **Sehun :[**  
4:44pm- _  
Not nice (Ó~Ò)... Just come over, we’ll go together._ **  
  
** From : **Sehun :[**  
4:45pm- _  
K be there in 10  
  
  
_ Jongin snorts, shaking his head. That boy really knows how to encourage people, doesn’t he ?

He exits the discussion and scrolls back on his text messages screen, finding the one he is looking for.  
  
  
To : **Soojung** ✿  
4:47pm- _  
Soojung~ ! Pretty pretty Soojungie~ !  
  
_ To : **Soojung** ✿  
4:47pm- _  
Soojung my best friend in the entire woooorld :)  
_  
To : **Soojung** ✿  
4:48pm- _  
I need you to channel your inner fashionista and help me !!!!!!_  
  
From : **Soojung** ✿  
4:50pm- _  
Six exclamation points. Shit got serious here. What’s up ?_  
  
To : **Soojung** ✿  
4:51pm- _  
What do people wear to go to a bar o.O ?_  
  
From : **Soojung** ✿  
4:52pm- _  
A bar ? Who are you and what have you done with my best friend ?_  
  
To : **Soojung** ✿  
4:52pm- _  
That joke’s getting old already -_-‘_  
  
From : **Soojung** ✿  
4:53pm-  
_?_  
  
To : **Soojung** ✿  
4:53pm- _  
Nevermind. Can you help me ?_  
  
From : **Soojung** ✿  
4:54pm- _  
Got yourself a date with tutor boy ?_  
  
To : **Soojung** ✿  
4:55pm- _  
Not exactly... But he’ll be there !_  
  
From : **Soojung** ✿  
4:56pm- _  
Ooooh *winkwink*_  
  
To : **Soojung** ✿  
4:57pm- _  
He was the one who invited me actually._  
  
From : **Soojung** ✿  
4:57pm- _  
..._  
  
From : **Soojung** ✿  
4:57pm- _  
Skype. Now._  
  
From : **Soojung** ✿  
4:58pm- _  
We need find you an outfit ASAP._  
  
To : **Soojung** ✿  
4:58pm- _  
Wheeeeeeeee_ ^ω^  


* * *

 

The freezing December wind is turning Jongin’s nose and ears into ice blocks as he and Sehun walk toward the bar where they’re supposed to meet Kyungsoo and his friends. He would’ve gladly put on a beanie, but his friend had scolded him and argued that, after he spent thirty minutes in the bathroom styling his hair, it would be stupid to ruin everything. And since on-screen-Soojung had rolled her eyes when he asked her if a sweater wouldn’t be more weather-appropriate than the t-shirt she advised, pointing out ‘ _Fashion over warmth_ ’ as her life motto – and Sehun even added “ _Some people are worth freezing for !_ ’ (in a very bad imitation of Olaf’s voice, Jongin must highlight) –, he had reluctantly put down his fluffy beanie with a sad sigh and prayed the bar would have a good heating system _._ Because, let’s be honest, spending the evening sneezing all over his crush wasn’t exactly a pleasant perspective.  
  
Thankfully, he got the approval of both Sehun and Soojung to at least wear his long grey winter coat.  
  
In the middle of his bedroom runway session, Kyungsoo texted him the address of a bar named the _Bluestone Locket_ , which was fortunately located pretty near, only a twenty-minute walk from campus. With a little luck – and if they were fast enough to keep their blood pumping and their bodies warm – Jongin wouldn’t catch a cold.  
  
The sophomore admits he’s a bit nervous. First because he isn’t used to parties, or gathering, call it as you like. He only joined such event a handful of times – not counting birthday parties when he was in elementary school, of course –, so he doesn’t really know how to act.  
  
Second, because there will be alcohol involved. And once again, Jongin is not familiar with the whole drinking thing. Or at least not with the ‘getting drunk’ part of it. Not that he plans on getting hammered. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea, with Kyungsoo here. Who knows what type of drunk person Jongin would turn out to be.  
  
He shivers when his brain flashes with images of different versions of himself, from overly-clingy weirdo to sad and sobbing mess. No thank you.  
  
The third reason he’s anxious about is actually the main one.  
Kyungsoo. Will. Be. There.  
He had felt pretty good when he accepted the invitation earlier, still feeling excited when the junior texted him to meet him and his friends at 9pm, and still was when he and Sehun left his room.  
  
But the more he walks, the more his mind is processing the fact that he’s indeed going to a bar, and that Kyungsoo will be here too. That Kyungsoo invited him. That Kyungsoo wanted him to come – judging by his reaction when Jongin had agreed to join. All this is pretty nerve-wracking, considering how easily stressed out he already tends to be 24/7.  
  
But the thing making him nervous is paradoxically also the reason he _wants_ to go.  
  
Kyungsoo had been so thoughtful when he invited him, making sure to let him know it was completely fine for him to refuse, emphasizing the fact that he _knew_ Jongin would most likely prefer to stay home, suggesting him to bring Sehun along so he wouldn’t feel too isolated.  
  
Seeing how considerate Kyungsoo was, he couldn’t have said no even if he didn’t want to go.  
But that was the thing.  
  
He _wanted_ to.  
  
He didn’t just consider it. He genuinely said yes without even having to think about it. And his choice clearly was the right one, if Kyungsoo’s beaming smile was any proof.  
  
“So, what’s your plan ?” Sehun asks, cutting the track of his thoughts.  
  
“My plan ?” Jongin muses, looking slightly up at Sehun’s face, “My plan for what ?”  
  
The Biology major sighs, rolling his eyes.  
  
“To fight global warming,” he mocks.  
  
“Uh ?”  
  
“Oh my god,” the younger groans and he would’ve probably facepalmed if getting his hands out of his pockets hadn’t been a threat to keep his fingers from freezing and falling, “To woo Kyungsoo hyung ! To sweep him off his feet ! To seduce him and _finally_ get laid ! What’s your plan ?”  
  
“What the- What are you talking about ? We’re just gonna have some drinks in a bar !” Jongin protests, blushing nonetheless, thanks to his brain switching its ‘ _omg-what-if_ ’ mode on and making him freak out.  
  
“Yeah right. Come on, don’t tell me you didn’t think of some strategies to have your way with him,” Sehun scoffs, staring at the Literature major from the corner of his eyes as they keep walking.  
  
Jongin buries his chin in his heavy and fluffy scarf, cheeks heating up.  
  
No. He actually didn’t think about it. In all his excitement at the prospect of going out, and even if the fact that Kyungsoo would be there was a big part of his enthusiasm, he hadn’t stopped to think it would indeed be a good opportunity for him to finally _do something_ about his crush on the junior.  
  
But now that Sehun had mentioned it, Jongin’s mind wasn’t about to let go.  And a myriad of scenarios flooded his thoughts, mostly revolving around his inebriated-self telling Kyungsoo how he feels, only to get politely – but straightforwardly – rejected because ‘ _I’m flattered but I don’t like you that way, sorry_ ’.  
  
And he wouldn’t even be able to protest because, come on, _of course_ someone like Kyungsoo couldn’t possibly be interested in a person like Jongin, even if the sophomore is sure the red-haired male would still be kind while turning him down.  
  
“No, okay, stop.” Jongin looks up once again at Sehun who has placed a hand on his shoulder to hold him back from taking another step forward. “You’re overthinking again. Your face is doing weird stuff.”  
  
“I’m not. I’m just-“  
  
“Overthinking. So, stop. What are you scared of ?”  
  
“I’m not scared,” Jongin denies again, and Sehun rolls his eyes. Again. “I’m not ! I just don’t think I should...try anything,” he ends with a sigh.  
  
“Why not ?”  
  
“Because there’s no way he would-...I don’t know...I just- I don’t think it’s a good idea. Period,” he concludes, frowning as he looks straight ahead, avoiding Sehun’s skeptic face.  
  
“Jongin, you-“  
  
“No, I don’t wanna talk about it,” he says, shaking his head, “I just wanna fucking get there already cause I’m freezing. And we’ll have a few drinks. No wooing, no getting laid. Just friends hanging out together and that’s it.”  
  
And Sehun must see something in his expression that makes him drops the subject because the boy only sighs a discouraged “Okay, let’s go then” before turning around and resuming his walking.  
  
Jongin gloomily follows, trying his best to get back some of the cheerfulness he felt earlier.  
  
  
\- - -  
  
  
After one last turn, Jongin’s eyes spot the turquoise neon lights spelling the bar’s name in a cursive font and glowing on the dozens of people chatting and smoking in front of the entrance door, puffs of white smoke mingling with the cold breath coming out of their mouths and swirling up in the night sky.  
  
As they’re about to enter the bar, Jongin takes a final deep breath.  
  
_Everything’s gonna be okay_ , he thinks. _It’ll be fine._  
  
The very few times Jongin set a foot in a bar, it had always been some kind of tiny rustic place where cheap beer was law.  
  
The Bluestone Locket, however, was something entirely different.  
  
Jongin wouldn’t describe it as fancy, but it definitely has an elegant vibe.  
The main room is pretty spacious – despite what the storefront could let you believe – with a high ceiling covered in mirrors.  
From where he is standing, he has a full view on the long bars placed on both side of the white-walled room, each lit by blue lights coming from under the counters and reflecting on the silver high stools aligned all along.  
In the center of the room, the cream-colored floor is stuffed with tall clear tables lit by tiny azure LED lights and each surrounded by people, either standing or sitting on high ivory leather stools.  
  
The cool-toned light ambiance making every surface glisten with blue flickers is however counteracted by the hotness floating in the air, probably due to the numerous groups of people crowding the place and warming the room already equipped by a good quality heating system – Jongin can say that much, judging by the warm wave of air blowing on him from the ceiling, effectively stopping the shivers running on his skin.  
  
He is still taking all in, from the visual design to the soft music playing in the background, eyes wandering on every surface and every smiling face, completely amazed, when Sehun breaks him from his trance.  
  
“Over there,” the Biology major nudges him, pointing at a table near the back of the room.  
  
Jongin tiptoes a bit to take a look over the crowd and spots Chanyeol first, bright orange hair sticking out in every direction as he seems to be in the middle of an intense storytelling, arms moving fast in front of him.  
  
“Okay, let’s go,” he nods.  
  
It takes them several minutes to make their way through the packed place, bumping on multiple people, before finally arriving in front of the group of familiar faces.  
  
Standing around a high table, glasses in front of them, Baekhyun, Jongdae, Jiyeon, Chanyeol, Eunji, Kyungsoo, and a short-haired girl Jongin doesn’t know are all cheerfully laughing.  
  
“Jongin !” Kyungsoo is the first one to notice them, the others still too engrossed in Chanyeol’s story, “You made it ! Did you find the place easily ?” he asks with a smile bright enough to blind Jongin.  
  
“Uhm, yeah, thanks,” Jongin shyly grins back.  
  
“That’s a miracle ! Kyungsoo is shit at giving direction !”  
  
Byun Baekhyun for you, ladies and gentlemen.  
  
“Well, I knew the place, so...” Sehun points out, smirking.  
  
As Baekhyun’s ostentatious laughter echoes over the noisy room, attracting the attention of the rest of the group, Jongin elbows his friend’s stomach, throwing him a meaningful look.  
  
_Shut the fuck up_.  
  
When they’ve all greeted each other, Baekhyun grabs Jongin’s sleeve and shoves him by Kyungsoo’s side, accidentally – or so he thinks – pushing him with a little too much force and sending him bumping on the red-haired male.  
  
Kyungsoo’s hands immediately come up to stabilize him after a hiss of pain escapes his lips, one on Jongin’s shoulder, the other on his hip.  
  
“You okay ?” he asks, looking up and Jongin nods, blushing until the older removes his hands, lightly patting his ribs where Jongin crashed.  
  
“We started already, sorry guys !” Jongdae exclaims, pointing at the glasses and half empty bottles on the table.  
  
“Jongin took forever to get ready,” Sehun helpfully provides with his characteristic ‘ _I’m-so-done_ ’ face, “That’s why we’re late. He took his time to perfect all this,” the younger adds, vaguely waving his hand to show Jongin’s entire body and earning yet another scandalized look from Jongin.  
  
“Yeah, he’s not the only one...” Baekhyun scoffs, sending a heavy glance towards Kyungsoo who kindly answers him with his middle finger.  
  
“It’s okay, you guys just have to catch up !” Eunji smiles at Sehun, pushing two clean glasses towards them.  
  
As the groups breaks of in various conversations, Kyungsoo leans in towards Jongin, probably to make sure he’s heard over all the enthusiastic chatting.  
  
“What do you wanna drink ?” he softly asks.  
  
His eyes are glimmering and Jongin can hear a very light slur in his speech, proving he indeed had a few drinks before he and Sehun got there.  
  
“I don’t know, I’m not really...familiar with all this,” he hesitantly admits, twisting his fingers.  
  
“Yeah, I figured that much,” Kyungsoo gently chuckles, “How about we avoid something too strong for now ? You like sweet stuff, right ?” Jongin nods, eyeing worriedly the bottles on the table, “Let’s go for a cocktail then.”  
  
A second later, Kyungsoo has grabbed his forearm and is leading him away from the table. Once they’re in front of the bar, he leans in and lift his finger to call a bartender on the other side.  
  
“You like pineapples and coconuts ?” he quickly asks to the sophomore, who once again just nods at the same time as the waitress arrives in front of Kyungsoo. “Can we have a Piña Colada and a White Russian, please ?” he orders with a polite smile.  
  
The sophomore quickly checks the cocktail list on the wall to see the ingredients and his frown must be pretty noticeable because Kyungsoo immediately reassures him.  
  
“Don’t worry, the second one is for me.”  
  
Not long after, the bartender is carefully placing two full glasses on the counter and before Jongin has the time to process what is happening, Kyungsoo is already paying for both drinks.  
  
“Wait ! I should pay !” he protests, searching in his pocket to find his wallet.  
  
“It’s alright, I invited you here anyway, didn’t I ?”  
  
“But I’m younger, I should be the one p-”  
  
“It’s fine, Jonginnie. You can still offer me the next one,” the junior grins, cocking an eyebrow.  
  
The nickname has Jongin blushing up to his hairline but he decides to put that on the count of the alcohol Kyungsoo has already downed and simply agrees with a quiet “Okay.”  
  
“So, what are you gonna do during winter break ?” the red-haired male inquires as they make their way back to their table.  
  
“I’m going back to my hometown, I haven’t seen my mom in a while,” he answers, the idea of seeing her making him smile unconsciously, “What about you ?”.  
  
And just like that, the conversation easily flows between the two of them, and then with the rest of the group, room littered with chitchat and laughter. Jongin indeed ends up buying Kyungsoo’s next drink. And the one after.  
  
The playful and lively mood – and probably the alcohol too – is soothing the sophomore, enough for him to purposefully stand close, _very_ _close_ , to Kyungsoo. If someone asks, he’ll blame it on the amount of people surrounding the table. Kyungsoo doesn’t seem to mind anyway, and if he was sober, Jongin might have noticed the junior was leaning against him too.  
  
Everything was fine, just like Jongin tried to convince himself earlier. His phone’s gallery was sporting a few pictures he had taken, mostly selfies with each person in the group – read : one with each member, and a good number only with Kyungsoo, who had looked very happy to comply, smiling brightly at the front camera every single time and pressing himself against the sophomore to make sure they were both in frame.  
  
Until Baekhyun’s voice resonated, covering all their conversations.  
  
“Wait a minute ! Sehun just told me Jongin never got drunk !” he shouts, reaching across the table to slap the back of his hand near Kyungsoo stomach, who in turn lets out a pained groan then hisses a “Baek for fuck’s sake, I told you to be careful !”, glaring at his best friend.  
  
But Jongin doesn’t have time to wonder what this is about. All eyes on him, some horrified, some clearly intoxicated, the sophomore’s body breaks into cold sweats.  
  
“We need to rectify that !” Jiyeon singsongs, clapping her hands and nearly losing her balance – alcohol and high heels are apparently not a very safe combo.  
  
Baekhyun, Jongdae and the third girl – whose name is Amber, he learned – disappear in the crowd and Jongin sends a panicked look to Sehun.  
The younger boy merely shrugs with an unconvincing apologetic face before sipping on his drink and Jongin hears Kyungsoo’s deep chortle next to him, chest vibrating against the sophomore’s arm.  
  
When the trio returns, they not-so-delicately make space on the table and spread tiny glasses, two bottles full of clear liquid, what looks like salt shakers and a plate stocked with slices of lime.  
  
“Tequila shots !” Chanyeol shouts, throwing his arms in the air, nearly punching a dazed Eunji who somehow manages to dodge, but ends up knocking off hers and Kyungsoo’s empty glasses.  
  
As the two of them start giggling like five year olds, Jongin sends a wary look to the new items on the table.  
  
That can’t be good.   
  
The sober version of himself would definitely refuse. Straight away.  
  
And maybe deep down, he knows he shouldn’t accept the full shot glass Jiyeon is giving to him. Nor should he grab a slice of lime and let a stumbling Sehun pour salt on the back of his hand.  
Does that stop him, though ?  
  
Nope !  
  
He also isn’t sure if the heat on his cheeks is due to the drinks he previously had or if it’s just the effect of watching Kyungsoo’s tongue poke out to lick a little patch of skin under his knuckles to help the salt sticking.  
Or maybe it’s the fact that the junior has had his hand resting on the small of Jongin’s back since he recovered from his fit of laughter, finger spread and sending warm waves all along the sophomore’s spine through the thin fabric of his t-shirt.  
  
Now that he thinks about it, he doesn’t remember when he took off his coat.  
  
However, he doesn’t have time to ponder any longer on his missing garment, as Baekhyun starts a countdown and Jongin is left with a feeling of emptiness when Kyungsoo removes his hand to quickly grab himself a slice of lime.  
  
When Baekhyun reaches zero, they all lick their knuckles in sync and swiftly tilt their heads back, gulping the clear alcohol in one swig.  
  
Jongin eyes shut by themselves, the tequila tracing a burning path in his throat as it makes its way down and he coughs uncontrollably.  
Fingers brush against his jaw and he opens teary eyes, seeing Kyungsoo’s glowing face smiling at him. Something fresh and humid pokes at his lips, forcing him to open his mouth and he bites the lime Kyungsoo is pushing between his teeth. A few seconds after, his mind tries to process the view of the junior nonchalantly biting on the exact same slice, sucking what’s left of the acidic juice out of it.  
  
_He must be really drunk_ , Jongin thinks, furiously blinking to get his blurry eyes to focus.  
  
“Group selfie !” Jongdae screams, holding his phone up, “I’m posting this one on Instagram so no weird faces ! I’m talking to you Chanyeol !”. _  
  
  
_ \- - -  
  
  
After a few more rounds of shots, Sehun starts explaining to each member of the group how much he loves them and why he does, Baekhyun is trying to braid Chanyeol’s hair. Jiyeon and Eunji have both abandoned their high heels and are improvising stupid lyrics along the upbeat music playing in the background, Jongdae is apparently having a staring contest with one of the Tequila bottle, groaning some whiny ‘ _You’re cheating ! You don’t have eyelids !_ ’ every once in a while. And Amber has mysteriously disappeared.  
  
As for Jongin, he’s observing everyone with a big smile plastered on his face. Kyungsoo’s head is resting on his shoulder as he plays with the sophomore’s fingers, twisting them in rhythm with the girls’ lyrics. The world is foggy, and he’s more or less aware he’s heavily leaning on the table in order to keep standing, not trusting his shaky legs anymore. But he doesn’t want to move.  
Kyungsoo’s hair is grazing his neck every time the older takes a breath or chuckles at Sehun’s words, and Jongin wants to stay like this forever.  
  
His little bubble pops when Sehun trips and violently bumps into him, the collision wave sending Kyungsoo crashing into Eunji with a yelp. It seems to grab everyone’s attention and they all blinks at each other confusedly.  
  
“I just got an idea !” Jongdae shouts, eyes crossed looking at his index finger pointing at his own forehead. “The leash !”  
  
Jongin looks around, baffled, when most of the group claps and agrees, sounds assaulting his sensitive eardrums.  
  
Kyungsoo, who has magically reappeared next to him, leans in and whispers directly in his ear.  
  
“It’s a club, a block away from here,” he starts, and to Jongin, strangely, he doesn’t sound that plastered, “It’s named _The Leash_. Jongdae knows a guy who works there, so we always get in for free,” he adds, hot breath brushing Jongin’s nape.  
  
Jongin nods and blinks again, his blurry vision getting him more and more dizzy.  
  
“The Leash it is then !” Baekhyun beams, grabbing Chanyeol’s sweater when his enthusiasm makes him lose his balance.  
  
Jongin turns his head to the side and comes nose to nose with Kyungsoo who apparently didn’t withdraw after talking to him. For a few seconds, he stares at him, his glistening eyes looking right back at him, then his alluring lips.  
  
And he starts to lean in. Slowly.  
  
“I’ll be right back.” Kyungsoo suddenly announces, detaching himself from the sophomore before fading in the crowd as some people decided to use a spot free from any table as a dancefloor.  
  
Jongin is left feeling cold without the junior’s body pressed against his. And as a wave of sadness quickly floods every corner of his mind, he lets himself being dragged into another round of tequila shots. And another one. And then a third one right after.  
  
  
\- - -  
  
  
“Jongin ?”  
  
A warm hand between his shoulder blades makes him jolt up and he realizes he’s bent over the table, forehead resting on the clear surface. The motion makes him even dizzier and he groans, leaning down again and letting his cheek being squished against the fresh transparent material – to be honest, at this point, he doesn’t even feel its stickiness caused by many drink spilling during the night.  
  
“Jongin, are you okay ?”  
  
The voice sounds worried. He can’t really pinpoint who its owner is, though. A man, that, he can tell. But his brain can’t register any more information. And his head spins way too much to risk opening his eyes. His eyelids probably wouldn’t cooperate anyway.  
  
“Jongin, hey, wake up.”  
  
Another voice. Also masculine. Still no further info.  
  
Jongin groans, eyes still closed. It sounds more like a whine, but who cares.  
  
“He’s wasted.”  
  
“Such a lightweight !”  
  
“Aw so cute !”  
  
“Don’t let him throw up here. We’re gonna get kicked out !”  
  
“Guys, where’s my left shoe !”  
  
“I should take him back to his dorm.”  
  
“But what about the club ?”  
  
“Yeah you said you wanted to go !”  
  
“Well Jongin’s not going anywhere like this.”  
  
“Found your shoe !”  
  
“Don’t worry, I’ll take him back to campus.”  
  
“You sure ?”  
  
“Yeah I’ve done this before.”  
  
“Where’s Amber ?”  
  
“At the bar, talking with a guy.”  
  
“I’ll go see if she wanna come with us.”  
  
Every voice is mingling in Jongin’s mind, male and female, he has no idea who is talking.  
  
“Jongin, come on, let’s get you home.”  
  
The sophomore doesn’t bother opening his eyes and lets whoever is lifting him do what they want. _  
  
  
\- - -_  
  
  
“You’re heavier than you look, you know that ?”  
  
With his eyes still closed, Jongin mumbles an incoherent answer as he lets himself be dragged in the lamp post lighted streets. He is vaguely conscious he is indeed putting all his weight on the person supporting him. His left arm is encircled around the man’s neck, weighting heavily on his shoulders as the person’s own arm is tightly secured around the sophomore’s waist, exhorting him to keep walking – or stumbling, actually.  
  
“Come on, we’re nearly there,” the voice encourages him when Jongin bends his legs. He just wants to sit down for a little while, “Just a few more minutes, I promise !”  
  
He feels himself being yanked up as the man readjusts his grip with a quiet groan.  
  
That sound lights a bulb in Jongin’s plastered brain. It sounds a lot like his friend’s.  
  
“Sehunniiiiiie,” the sophomore singsongs joyfully, happy he finally recognized who was carrying him even with closed eyelids.  
  
Maybe he is starting to sober up, he thinks.  
  
A low snort echoes by his side.  
  
“Yes ?”  
  
“Sehunnie, you’re the best !” he claims, throwing his free arms in a big circular motion, causing him to trip and to get yanked up once more.  
  
“Thank you, Jongin,” his friend answers with a muffled chuckle.  
  
“Almost as much as Kyungsoo hyung !”  
  
New chuckle.  
  
“Okay.”  
  
“You know what ?”  
  
“No, what ?”  
  
“I don’t think hyung likes me very much,” he slurs, trying to get words out as intelligible as he can.  
  
“Really ? And how did you come up with that conclusion ?” Sehun asks and Jongin thinks he can hear amusement in his voice, even though it sounds deeper than usual.  
  
“Not funny,” the Literature major pouts. Kyungsoo considered him as a friend. He had pointed that out a few times in the past few months. Maybe because he figured out Jongin liked him and the older wanted to remind him of the limit he couldn’t trespass. And earlier, the sophomore had had a pretty straightforward proof of that, “I almost kissed him tonight. But then he ran away.”  
  
He hears Sehun sigh, still can't find the energy to open his eyes and check what kind of look he’s sending him.  
  
“I’m sure he didn’t run away, Jongin. It’s probably not what it looks like,” his friend answers seriously, “Come on, help me a little and try to actually walk. We’re almost there.”  
  
The request flies over Jongin’s head and he keeps his whining, shaking his head.  
  
“No, he did. But I get it.”  
  
“Jongin-”  
  
“He’s way too perfect to be interested in someone like me, you know.”  
  
“This is absurd, you’re just drunk.”  
  
“It’s not !”  
  
“It _is_.”  
  
“No it’s not !” he fights back, wiggling in Sehun’s hold.  
  
“Okay, okay ! If you say so. Stop thrashing like that, I’m gonna lose my grip on you.”   
  
A few minutes later, he feels Sehun slowly coming to a stop and helping him leaning on a cold wall. A hand carefully pats the front pockets of his jeans. Then the back ones, and the sophomore giggles.  
  
“Jongin, where did you put your keys ?”  
  
It takes a several seconds for the boy to process what he’s being asked, too busy pressing his boiling cheek against what feels like a cool glass wall, bright lights burning through his closed eyelids.  
  
“In my coat,” he answers in a mumble.  
  
“And...where’s your coat ?”  
  
He shrugs.  
  
“Okay what about your phone ?”  
  
“In my coat.”  
  
Sehun sighs. Maybe Jongin shouldn’t have smiled when he answered.  
  
“And your wallet ?”  
  
“Coat,” Jongin cackles before he randomly starts humming the McDonald’s five notes theme song. Now he’s hungry.  
  
Sehun releases what sounds like half a groan and half a sigh – and Jongin giggles some more when he mentally renames it a _grigh_.  
  
“Okay, plan B. Come on, more walking.”  
  
He feels his body being lifted up from the wall and leaned again on his friend bulky stature.  
  
Sehun’s been hitting the gym apparently !  
  
After what seems like a very long walk in the cold wind, filled with Jongin’s whiny complains and Sehun’s grunts, they stop again. He hears keys being shaken and a door opening, a wave of warm air hitting his skin.  
  
“Okay, I’m really gonna need you to help me here. The elevator’s broken so we’re gonna have to climb stairs.”  
  
“I don’t like stairs. Can we just stay here ?” Jongin cries, eyes still closed and head lulling from side to side before he leans it on his friend’s shoulder, tightening his grip around the boy’s neck. He vaguely wonders how much the boy is bending his knees in order to fit his shoulder under Jongin’s armpit and the image popping behind his closed eyelids, of Sehun walking like an ostrich, makes him sloppily snort.  
  
“No, we can’t. Come on, one last effort and you’ll be able to lie down in a bed !”  
  
“Bed, bed, bed !” Jongin chants, wobbly jolting up and trying to clap his hands but he unintentionally hits Sehun’s nose with his forearm, “Oops,” he chuckles, shut eyelids scrunching even more.  
  
For the umpteenth time, Sehun sighs and clicks his tongue before yanking up Jongin’s body once more, hissing as the latter’s side bumps against his side.  
  
There are way too many stairs for hammered-Jongin’s liking.  
  
They have to stop a few times as he heave, bending down to place his free hand on the steps.  
  
“I swear to god, Jongin, if you throw up...” Sehun warns him, sounding alarmed, but he still pats a comforting hand on Jongin’s back.  
  
After an endless climbing – Jongin is almost sure they’re at least on the seventy-sixth floor – and a long walk down a corridor – again, at least four miles long, according to Jongin’s very reliable estimations – they finally, _finally_ , come to a halt. A new door opens after some jingly sound of keys and, eyes forever closed, he lets his body being hauled forward to what he hopes is the finishing line.  
  
The last thing his hazy mind catches before blacking out is Sehun helping him lay on a bouncy soft surface and a hand gently brushing his bangs out of his sweaty face. _  
  
  
_ \- - -  
  
  
_Ouch_.  
  
That’s the very first information Jongin processes when he wakes up.  
And considering the amount of alcohol he downed the night before, it’s a pretty damn coherent thought.  
  
Through his closed eyelids, he can only see light coming from somewhere to the right. Which is also the side of his face being warmed up by something.  
  
_Sun_ , he decides.  
  
He tries to move away from it, because _ouch_ , and scrunches his nose when the movement sends a pulsing throb in his head. _Double ouch_.  
  
He takes a few seconds, now laying on his left side with gritted teeth, waiting for the rave party happening in his skull to calm down.  
Once he feels like the shark munching on his brain finally took a break, he inhales deeply, carefully burying his face in the soft pillow under his cheek.  
  
_Kyungsoo_ , he thinks, smiling.  
  
Wait. What ?  
  
He opens his eyes, only to close them again when the bright light bathing the room burns his retinas.  
  
_Ouch._ Again. _Sun_ , also.  
  
But still _Kyungsoo._  
  
Because that pillow smells a lot like the junior. And Jongin would know. He loves how Kyungsoo smells.  
  
But it doesn’t make sense.  
  
Jongin might be a literature major, and creative writing might be his thing, but overall, Jongin likes logic things. That’s one of the things his fanfictions’ readers often point out in their comments. His characters and plot developments are coherent and _logic._  
  
Except that, so far, the three information he managed to gather are _not_ logic. At all.  
  
So he decides to dive into his memory and try to find something, anything else, since opening his eyes might threaten the life of his optic nerves.  
  
_Think, Jongin. Think._  
  
He just woke up, and the mean sun is burning bright, so it’s safe to conclude it must be some time in the late morning.  
Good.  
Not helpful, but that’s already something.  
  
It would consequently be logic to say that whatever caused his head to be on the verge of imploding probably happened the night before.  
Okay, now he’s getting somewhere.  
  
He dives in a little further.  
  
Blue lights. Neons and LEDs.  
And a lost shoe.  
  
Jongin frowns, because _what the fuck ?_  
  
Going deeper, his mind catches random images and sounds, confusing him even more.  
  
A slice of pineapple, tiny glasses, stairs, fire in his throat, the smell of pancakes. Then salt on his tongue, a song with weird lyrics, lime juice, cold wind, Sehun screaming he likes him...  
  
_Sehun !_  
  
He remembers Sehun supporting him as they walked. His body was feeling heavy – still does. He also remembers walking next to the younger boy in the freezing night.  
That would explain the cold wind.  
  
For some reason, his mind is connecting the taste of salt with lime juice. And with fingers grazing his lips.  
  
Jongin shakes his head to clear his ideas, only to regret it a second later, groaning as the drilling in his skull starts again. The deep sound scorches his larynx and he realizes his throat is parched, tasting like crap. Figuratively _and_ literally.  
  
And that’s when it finally clicks. The pieces begin to glue themselves together and the story unfolds behind his closed eyelids as Jongin scrunches his nose.  
  
The bar with its blue lights, the drinks – many, _many_ drinks _,_ cocktails and then _shots_. Salt and lime and fire. The drunkenness and Kyungsoo’s head on his shoulder. Sehun going crazy and hugging Baekhyun.  
That last thought has Jongin smiling. But only for a short moment. There are still some images he cannot link with anything he remembers. Or rather, some _smells_.  
First the pancakes’... Nothing matches in his memories.  
And then Kyungsoo’s.  
  
But after some time digging deeper in his mind, he gives up, deeming it somehow safe to try and open his eyes. So he does. The right, then the left one once he made sure the sun wasn’t going to jump and attack him.  
  
What he finds in front of him is definitely not what he expected. When he was filling the blanks in the story, he remembered Sehun yanking up his plastered self in the streets. Then something about his missing keys. So he naturally assumed Sehun had took him back to his own dorm room. That wasn’t explaining the stairs, but his headache could’ve been responsible for making up the unpleasant image. He never liked stairs.  
  
Except, the wall Jongin is facing right now is not, _definitely not_ from Sehun’s room.  
  
_What the fuck !_  
  
Jong sits up at lighting speed, ignoring the pain flashing through his head and gives a quick look around him as the sheets brushes against his chest.  
  
Wait what ?  
  
His eyes shoot down, only to discover he isn’t wearing his shirt anymore. In a panicked motion, Jongin lifts up the bed covers before letting a relieved breath escape his lips. His jeans are still there, thank god.  
  
A tiny bit reassured, he goes back to checking his surroundings.  
  
Books. That’s what he notices first. _A lot_ of them. Everywhere. On a desk, filling a bookshelf, even some piles on the floor.  
There’s a black leather jacket thrown over a chair, and battered red converses abandoned in the far-left corner of the room.  
  
Those items look vaguely familiar.  
  
What he doesn’t recognize, though, is the neatly folded pastel green shirt placed on the pillow next to the one he was sleeping on. Still wary, he grabs the garment and slips in it, assuming someone put it there for him to wear, before carefully pushing the sheets and standing up on wobbly legs.  
  
His head still hurts, but he decides to ignore it. He needs to find out where the hell he is.  
  
And why it smells like freaking pancakes.  
  
Jongin cautiously exits the room and makes his way through a short white-walled corridor, bare feet thudding on the carpeted floor. He enters a modest living room, nervous eyes wandering around to try and find out who lives here. There are some photos on the opposite wall, but they’re too far for him to distinguish the faces. Jongin is about to take a few steps towards them when he hears some metallic noises coming from his left, followed by a low curse.  
  
Following the sound, he passes a new doorway and pops into a small kitchen.  
  
There, bare back turned to Jongin and facing a stove, stands Kyungsoo, wet burgundy hair dripping tiny droplets that run down the junior’s shoulder blades.  
  
Jongin blinks a few times before rubbing his eyes. And blinking some more, just to make sure his hangover isn’t playing him a weird trick.  
  
But Kyungsoo is still there, cladded in loose gray sweatpants, bare feet and shirtless, a kitchen towel thrown over one of his shoulder, maneuvering a pan in front of him.  
  
He still isn’t sure the older boy isn’t an illusion, so he decides to speak up.  
  
“H-Hyung ?”  
  
Kyungsoo swiftly turns around and a big smile makes his eye crinkle. Defined abs flashes in Jongin’s vision and the boy gulps.  
  
“Jongin, hey, you’re up ! Did you sleep well ?” The sophomore nods, “You must be a little confused, aren’t you ? To not be at Sehun’s place, I mean,” Kyungsoo clarifies and Jongin wonders how the junior _knows_ , “How’s your head ?”  
  
“I’m never drinking again,” he says, earning a little chuckle from his tutor as he tries to keep his eyes on the older’s face.  
  
“Yeah, we all say that. Here.”  
  
The younger male takes a few steps forward and grabs the tall glass full of water Kyungsoo is extending to him, thanking him when he drops what looks like painkillers in his free hand.  
After gulping down everything, he sets the now empty glass down and watches Kyungsoo go back to what he was doing.  
That explains the pancakes smell.  
  
“Where are we ?” he questions, looking around.  
  
“My apartment. Well, mine and my brother’s.” Jongin then remembers the older told him once he wasn’t living in the campus’ dorm and his panic must show on his face because Kyungsoo smiles at him and quickly reassures him, “He’s not here, it’s okay. He’s at work. That’s his shirt I gave you. I thought mine wouldn’t have fitted you.”  
  
If he is honest, he knows Kyungsoo is right. But he still would’ve gladly worn one of the junior’s shirts. It’s probably not something he should say out loud, though, so he just nods again and thank him.  
  
“I’m preparing some breakfast,” Kyungsoo continues, “So why don’t you go take a shower while I finish ? I’m sure you feel like freshening up. That’s why I had to take off your shirt last night,” he explains, avoiding Jongin’s eyes and looking a little embarrassed, “It was all sticky from all the drink-spilling happening at the bar. I didn’t want you to sleep in that...”  
  
Just as considerate as ever, as expected from Do Kyungsoo.  
  
Jongin smiles at him and whispers yet another polite ‘Thank you’, before making his way towards the tiny bathroom Kyungsoo just indicated to him. _  
  
  
_ \- - -  
  
  
A more than welcomed hot shower later, Jongin finds himself sitting on the plushy brown couch, a plate full of pancakes covered in strawberry jam and a hot chocolate – because _of course_ Kyungsoo would remember – set in front of him on the coffee table.  
Kyungsoo is sitting beside him – really, _really_ close, and still extremely shirtless – pressing on the tv remote to flip through the channels. He settles on a random variety show, lowering the sound, as if he just wanted to have something going on in the background to avoid any awkwardness. Jongin internally thanks him. A gazillion times.  
  
Because while he was showering, he remembered, if not all, at least parts of the conversation he had with who he thought was Sehun but clearly wasn’t. And that’s exactly why he hasn’t uttered a word and has avoided to look in Kyungsoo’s direction since he sat down. That and the fact that his eyes seem to be automatically zooming on the older’s naked chest.  
  
“Sehun called me from your phone this morning,” the older nonchalantly informs him, sipping at his coffee, “He found your coat at the bar and he kept it, with your wallet and keys. He said you could come and fetch them anytime today in his room.”  
  
_Maybe he won’t mention everything I told him while I was drunk_ , Jongin thinks, nodding at the junior to thank him for passing on the message.  
Maybe he won’t.  
  
Kyungsoo might be embarrassed too. He probably doesn’t comment on it because he wants to avoid the uneasy moment of having to reject Jongin. Maybe he’s even doing so for Jongin’s sake. Maybe he doesn’t want to be forced to explain why he left when the sophomore leaned in to kiss him.  
Maybe this is his silent way of sparing Jongin the awkwardness of being turned down while eating pancakes.  
Jongin thinks it stills shows how considerate the older is, quietly letting him understand he is not interested, but telling him with breakfast that they can still be friends, if Jongin wants to.  
  
And if being friends with him was the most Jongin could have, then he wouldn’t ruin everything. It was more than enough, right ?  
  
No, it’s not. But he can’t show Kyungsoo how the thought sends an actual and physical pain from his chest down to his fingertips. So he inhales slowly, and he starts eating, planning on getting out of there as soon as he can without seeming disrespectful towards the person who took care of him when he was a mess.  
  
Kyungsoo isn’t stupid, though, and Jongin knows he might catch that something is wrong if the younger stays silent for too long. So he decides to try and make a small talk to show the junior he’s fine with the whole situation. Or at least, let him _think_ he is.  
  
He quickly searches for something, _anything_ , to talk about, and as his gaze looks around, a light blinks in his mind when he finally finds a potential topic. He vaguely wonders if it’s really a good idea, but answers himself that it’s the best he gets right now, so _shut up and go for it before Kyungsoo notices_. Plus, he _is_ curious about it.  
He points at Kyungsoo’s bare ribs where reddish skin is covered by a clear creamy texture, blurring the edges of inked words adorning the junior’s pale complexion.  
  
“It’s French, right ?” he says, trying to look undisturbed by the chiseled abs and defined chest he’s looking at. Yeah, it definitely was _not_ a good idea.  
  
Munching on his pancakes, the junior follows his gaze and looks down.  
  
“Yes it is !” Kyungsoo beams at him, “Wanna try guessing who wrote it ?” he suggests, lifting up his arm a bit so Jongin could have a better view of the six lines written on his skin.  
  
Nope. Jongin does _not_ need a better view. But he started this himself.  
  
“I have a very bad accent, so don’t laugh,” he warns with a shy smile, before he reads out loud.  
  
“ _Rien n’est plus doux au_ _cœur_ _plein de choses funèbres,  
Et sur qui dès longtemps descendent les frimas,  
Ô blafardes saisons, reines de nos climats,_  
  
_Que l’aspect permanent de vos pâles ténèbres,  
\- Si ce n’est, par un soir sans lune, deux à deux,  
D’endormir la douleur sur un lit hasardeux._ ”  
  
“That was pretty good for someone who claims having a bad accent !” Kyungsoo compliments him and Jongin blushes trying to keep his eyes on the tattoo – mostly to keep them from wandering on the junior’s upper body, where he can see a few other inked designs.  
  
“I’m might need a little help to translate, though.”  
  
“The official one is something like that : _  
_ ‘ _Nothing is sweeter to a heart full of sorrows,  
On which the hoar-frost fell in some past time,  
O faded seasons, queens of our climes,  
  
Than the eternal sights of your pale shadows,  
\- Unless on a moonless night, pair by pair,  
To lull upon chance beds, our hearts’ despair._ ’ ”  
  
“It so pretty,” Jongin softly whispers.  
  
“We worked on French poetry this semester, and I fell in love with that one. It’s not the full poem, just the parts I like the most,” Kyungsoo provides, “So ? Any idea ?”  
  
Well, he can’t really leave right now, can he ? Maybe he could see that as a school test. Or so he tries to convince himself.  
  
“Mmh...okay let’s see. With all that traditional punctuation, we can rule out Apollinaire. This looks like a poem coming from the Symbolism movement, so it could be Rimbaud ?” he muses, narrowing his eyes and Kyungsoo just looks at him as Jongin counts the syllables. “Oh, some Alexandrines in there, mostly double rhymes too. But with the translation, I feel like there’re Romanticism influences. Wait...” Jongin looks up to an amused Kyungsoo. “Is it Baudelaire ?”  
  
“Good job ! I’m impressed !” the red-haired male praises with a big smile and Jongin’s heart hurts, “It’s called ‘ _Brumes et pluies’_ , means Mists and rains. It’s from the collection ‘ _Les fleurs du mal’_ ,” Kyungsoo says, in a near perfect French accent.  
  
“When did you get it ?”  
  
“Yesterday. That’s where I had to go after I walked you back to your room.”  
  
“Did it hurt ?”  
  
“Not really. That one was more painful,” Kyungsoo confesses, turning a bit so Jongin can see his back.  
  
On his right shoulder blade, a spot earlier covered by the kitchen towel, Jongin discovers a geometrically designed treble key intricated with a red rose and surrounded by blotches of black ink as if the liquid had dribbled from a quill.  
  
“It’s beautiful,” he says in a hushed voice.  
  
His hand unconsciously reaches out to graze the art piece but he stops himself right before his fingertips can touch the inked skin.  
  
Kyungsoo might have been pretty tactile with him last night when they were drunk, but it doesn’t mean he would be fine with Jongin touching him now.  
His brain seem to not give him even a full minute to forget that nothing more than friendship will be ever possible with the junior, and his heart burns as he slowly withdraws his hand and drops his gaze on his lap.  
  
“You can touch it if you want, I don’t mind,” Kyungsoo gently tells him, looking above his shoulder and Jongin can hear the smile in his voice.  
  
It’s nothing more than the older being nice, but the way it makes Jongin’s stomach ache is enough to put him in motion.  
  
“No, it’s okay. I- I should probably go and head to Sehun’s to get my stuff back,” he backs out, standing quickly and looking anywhere but at Kyungsoo’s face.  
  
“Or...you could stay and we could chill in front of the TV until your headache is gone,” Kyungsoo suggests, standing too, “I’d feel bad to let you go when you’re clearly still in pain.”  
  
Always so thoughtful.  
  
It hurts.  
  
Because Jongin doesn’t want Kyungsoo to be so nice. He doesn’t want to fall for the older male more than he already has. It’s not fair the junior gives Jongin more and more reason to like him without even trying to. It’s not fair he makes Jongin understand they were friends, and _only_ friends, but keeps being so charming, and inviting and lovable. So _friendly._  
  
And Jongin needs to leave _now_ before he makes an even bigger fool of himself than he did last night. Before his eyes drop the stingy tears gathering there more and more each passing seconds.  
  
“I’ll wash your brother’s shirt and I’ll give it back after winter’s break,” he says, voice quivering as he starts walking towards the front door.  
  
“Jongin, wait !” Kyungsoo calls, and his voice sounds alarmed.  
  
But Jongin keeps moving forward, swallowing the sob going up his chest.  
  
Damn hangover making him overly sensitive.  
  
“Jongin !”  
  
“Thanks for dealing with me last night. I’m sorry I acted like I did.”  
  
“What are you talking about. Can you just-”  
  
“I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. But thank you for still being so considerate,” he bitterly spills, putting on his sneakers by the door.  
  
“What-“  
  
“I guess that’s what _friends_ do, right ?” he ends, the words burning his throat more than any strong alcohol could do.  
  
He quickly bows his head, back facing  Kyungsoo to avoid looking at him and grabs the door’s handle and the keys that are already in the lock, ready to bail out of there.  
  
And he is about to unlock the door. Until a hand encircles his wrist and tugs him firmly away from the exit.  
  
“Jongin, can you please stop for a second, for god’s sake !” Kyungsoo exclaims, his grip tight.  
  
Jongin shakes his head, trying to keep his face out of the junior’s sight. But failing.  
  
“What the hell is going on ? Are- are you crying ?” the red-haired male utters, tone suddenly sounding completely panicked.  
  
“No, I’m not. It’s nothing, I just need to go,” Jongin cowers, trying to release his arm.  
  
“Well, you’re not going anywhere until you tell me what’s wrong !”  
  
Kyungsoo uses his free hand to yank the keys out of the door and strongly throws them behind him. Jongin watches them bounce on the edge of the couch and fall between the plushy cushions, and Kyungsoo sends him a challenging look, silently daring him to go and grab them.  
  
And that glare is what finally makes him snap, fires up Jongin’s mind and pushes him to stop running away and fight back.  
  
“You wanna know what’s wrong ? You ! The way you act with me ! I can’t handle it anymore !” Kyungsoo frowns and opens his mouth to reply, but Jongin isn’t done. His voice is shaking and cracking, but he keeps going, “You’re all friendly and nice and you tease me to no end. You really think it’s funny to watch me getting embarrassed every time I’m with you ?”  
  
“Wh-”  
  
“Is it entertaining ? To pretend we’re close and then turn me down without a world ? Even if you _know_ I like you ! Do you enjoy that ?” he says, barely containing a sob but still yanking his wrist out of Kyungsoo’s grip, “Do you and your friends laugh about poor stupid Jongin who has a big crush on perfect Kyungsoo ? Oh it must be so hilarious !”  
  
“Jongin, you- ” Kyungsoo tries once again, his eyes bulging out of their sockets. But even if he will probably regret all this later, Jongin cuts him again, still having some things to say.  
  
“You know, it’s fucking unfair,” he sighs in a trembling breath, “I thought you were nice to everyone because it was in your nature. Because you were genuinely kind. But I guess I was wrong. You just really like the attention, don’t you ? You love having everyone gravitating around you like little satellites,” the sophomore scoffs sadly, “Well, I’m sorry, I won’t be one of them anymore,” he ends as a few treacherous tears roll down his cheeks.  
  
There’s a silence following his statement, and Kyungsoo looks like he doesn’t know if he should be shocked or angry. His face seems to settle for something in between and a determined look invades his eyes.  
  
“Are you done ?” he sharply says, cocking an eyebrow that disappears under his messy burgundy bangs.  
  
‘Regretting later’ actually turns into _regretting instantly._  
Jongin drops his gaze to the ground, ashamed of his outburst. He would like to only blame the hangover, really, but it most likely has also something to do with the melodramatic part of his brain popping up unwanted sometimes. But whatever caused it, he is the one having to deal with the consequences.  
  
And he’s almost sure Kyungsoo also regrets throwing his keys earlier, hindering him from kicking Jongin out right away. With a clean punch, for good measure.  
  
Okay, maybe the punch will happen nonetheless, Jongin thinks when he sees the junior’s hands turn into clenched fists.  
He never got hit on the face before, but Sehun told him it hurt like a bitch. And the colorful bruise decorating the boy’s cheekbone that day was proving his words.  
So Jongin braces himself for the impact, and closes his eyes, getting a glimpse of Kyungsoo’s clenched jaw before his eyelids completely shut. And he prays for it to be quick.  
  
He kinda deserves that punch anyway.  
  
But then he hears a low chortle. And before he can process what is happening, a hand is grapping his nape, forcing him to bend down a bit.  
  
A breathy “You’re an idiot,” later, soft lips are pressing against his own.  
  
Jongin freezes, body going stiff and eyelids shooting open. His eyes cross, trying to focus and comprehend why he’s seeing Kyungsoo face so, _so_ close.  
  
Kyungsoo must feel how tense he is, because his thumb gently strokes the skin behind the sophomore’s ear.  
And everything shatters inside Jongin. Slowly, he closes his eyes again and lets whatever gloomy thoughts clouding his mind slowly drift away until they evaporate into thin air.  
  
Kyungsoo’s hand is softly grazing his fingers through the sophomore’s nape hair, drawing him a little closer as he applies more pressure on Jongin’s lips and a shiver runs down the younger’s spine when the red-haired male starts to gently move his mouth.  
  
Tentatively, he follows the older and presses back. He can feel Kyungsoo smiling against his lips as his free hand settles on Jongin’s hip, causing goosebumps all over the boy’s arms.  
  
His own hands instinctively reach up to grab at something, _anything_ , that could keep him standing when Kyungsoo opens his lips and captures Jongin bottom one between them, lightly nipping at it as if he was testing the water, unsure of how Jongin would react.  
Kyungsoo gets his answer when Jongin’s fingers involuntarily lands on the man’s bare stomach and his nails scratch the pale skin as he tries to clutch at a shirt he forgot Kyungsoo wasn’t wearing.  
  
The action coaxes a soft sigh out of Kyungsoo’s mouth and his lips fall open, warm breath gliding against Jongin’s face, and making the younger quietly gasp when the junior firmly tugs him closer, colliding their bodies together, chest pressed against one another.  
  
The hand previously on his hip is slowly sliding on Jongin’s back, fingertips leaving burning lines on their way up to his shoulder blade. The younger’s heart is beating so fast he isn’t sure how Kyungsoo doesn’t hear it.  
  
When the junior gently bites at his lips once again, Jongin gives him access almost instantly, feeling like his whole body is vibrating as Kyungsoo deepens the kiss with a low breathy moan, lips fiery, bruising and demanding.  
Somehow, the younger’s arms have made their way around Kyungsoo neck, pressing their bodies even closer, until he doesn’t know where he ends and where Kyungsoo begins.  
He relishes in every sensation, every touch, every sound, as it all gets magnified.  
  
He has wanted this for so long, without even being aware of it.  
Because yes, he had thought about kissing Kyungsoo. But never had he actually considered what it would be like to kiss him. And even his creative mind wouldn’t have been able to foresee how perfect it actually felt. Nothing could’ve prepare Jongin for the way his trembling body fit so naturally against Kyungsoo strong one.  
  
Kyungsoo withdraws slightly, quietly chortling when Jongin follows the movement to not let him go, and the older’s hand brushes his neck and settles on Jongin’s jaw, pressing their foreheads together.  
  
Jongin slowly opens his eyes, gaze hungrily devouring Kyungsoo’s flushed face, ears cherishing the heavy pants coming out of the junior’s open lips, fingers reveling in the softness of the man’s skin.  
  
“Coffee doesn’t taste that bad on your tongue,” he whispers, so lost in the moment he doesn’t even think before he speaks.  
  
“Good to know. I won’t need to reduce my caffeine incomes then,” Kyungsoo answers after chuckling.  
  
“Mmh ?”  
  
“I wouldn’t want you to feel grossed out every time,” the red-haired male answers with a lopsided smile as his thumb brushes against the younger’s Adam apple.  
  
“Every time ?” Jongin asks again softly, still feeling somehow high.  
  
Kyungsoo nods, forehead still connected with the sophomore’s, before leaning in and pressing a delicate butterfly kiss on Jongin’s lips. And Jongin kisses back instantly.  
  
After some more making out, warm and unhurried kisses landing on swollen lips and flushed cheeks, Kyungsoo finally detaches himself, tenderly pecking the younger’s nose one last time. Jongin isn’t sure when he ended up with his back pressed against the wall.  
  
“Do you still want to go now or are you gonna agree to stay a bit longer ?” Kyungsoo asks, teasing smile stretching his red lips and Jongin just wants to kiss him again.  
  
“I guess I could hang out for an hour or two,” he replies, shyly smiling back before Kyungsoo intertwines their fingers and leads him back to the couch.  
  
And Kyungsoo’s hand is just as soft as Jongin remembers.  
  
‘An hour or two’ turns into four, five, six hours, since Kyungsoo had suggested they watched the Lord of Rings trilogy, insisting at the end of the first two that Jongin couldn’t leave yet, since it wouldn’t be a real marathon if they didn’t go through the three movies.  
  
And to be honest, Jongin hadn’t been that hard to convinced, as they cuddled and made out more than they actually watched the films, adventurous hands grazing shivering skin and shiny lips brushing necks and collarbones.  
  
The only time they stopped was when Kyungsoo revealed an unexpected information, hot breath caressing Jongin’s ear as his fingertips swirls up his spine, under his shirt.  
  
“You know, for what it’s worth, my friends and my work colleagues have been teasing me for a year now, saying I’m a coward cause I never did anything even though I liked you. So you see, there was absolutely no laughing at you,” he says and Jongin’s cheeks flare up, eyes widening.  
  
“Y-you... You like me ?” he stutters, gaze locking into Kyungsoo’s eyes.  
  
The older chortles, shaking his head in disbelief.  
  
“Well, _obviously_ ,” he emphasizes with a pointed look, bumping their noses, before he chuckles again, “For someone so smart, you’re incredibly dense...”  
  
“Shut up,” Jongin answers, before his eyes look down at his hands conveniently settled on Kyungsoo’s chest, “So, are we...” he trails shyly.  
  
_Together ?_  
  
“Yeah, we are,” Kyungsoo answers then leans to capture the younger’s lips once again, gripping at Jongin’s hips to pull him on top of his own body as he lays on the couch. _  
  
  
_ \- - -  
  
  
When the Return of the King’s end credits music starts echoing in the living room, Jongin stretches himself, earning a little hiss from Kyungsoo when he inadvertently rubs his arm against the older’s freshly inked skin. It only takes a kiss – or five – to be forgiven, and he finally stands up.  
  
“I really should go, now. I need to go grab my stuff at Sehun’s. He’s leaving for his hometown tomorrow morning and I won’t see him until the end of winter break.”  
  
Kyungsoo sighs dramatically, still sprawled on the sofa and glances up at Jongin with sad puppy eyes.  
  
“Am _I_ gonna see you before the end of winter break ?” he asks, tilting his head and Jongin wants nothing more than to fall on the couch again and stay here forever.  
  
But he need to be reasonable. He should really not stay.  
  
He shouldn’t.  
  
...Right ?  
  
Right.  
  
_Don’t be greedy_ , he scolds himself, eyes hungrily peeking at Kyungsoo’s abs.  
  
“I’m leaving Seoul tomorrow night and I’ll be back after Christmas, probably on the 28th, so if you’re around...” he trails, biting his lips.  
  
Kyungsoo only answers him with a blinding smile shining brighter than the ending afternoon winter sun that catches his red hair through the window, and Jongin’s heart explodes in a thousand of little sparkling shards.  
  
Kyungsoo follows behind as he walks to the door, hands combing through Jongin’s hair as the younger bends to put on his shoes.  
  
“Here, at least take my jacket, I don’t want you to freeze outside.”  
  
“You already want me to wear your clothes, how possessive of you Mr. Do,” Jongin snickers playfully, tongue sticking out but he lets the older help him putting on said jacket, sighing contently because it smells like Kyungsoo. And Jongin really loves how Kyungsoo smells.  
  
“Well, I mostly want you out of _your_ clothes. I’m sure you could _feel it_ earlier. But that’ll have to do for now,” Kyungsoo fires back with a seductive smirk, adjusting the jacket’s collar and Jongin almost chokes on air.  
  
Yes. He felt _it._ And it had been really tricky to hide the effect it had on him. Because he had been raised a good boy. And a good boy doesn’t not do that kind of stuff on the first date.  
  
_Damnit mom for raising me too well._  
  
This is why he really, _really,_ needs to go. Now.  Before he jumps on the inviting – still half naked – body facing him.  
  
Keys in hand, the junior unlocks the door and opens it for Jongin. He grabs his hand for a last goodbye peck, that turns into a long and hot deep kiss leaving Jongin all flustered as his grip on Kyungsoo shoulders tighten, body pressed against each other – and Jongin has no idea when Kyungsoo’s other hand ended up on his ass – again –, pulling him even closer. The younger boy’s fingers brush Kyungsoo’s cheekbones, before grazing his thumb along the junior’s slightly opened mouth, warm breath coming out of Kyungsoo’s lips making his skin tingle and his abdomen tighten.  
  
Kyungsoo doesn’t seem to be ready to let him leave, trying to prolong the contact by pecking Jongin’s fingertip before tugging him even closer to hug him, holding him securely in his arms, fingers caressing his lower back just under the hem of his shirt, sending shivers down to Jongin’s bones.  
  
After a long moment, Jongin reluctantly detaches himself from the warm body and with a final caress of their lips and a little wave, he steps out of the apartment and starts walking down the building hallway, already missing the other’s presence.  
  
He hasn’t even reached the stairs, though, when Kyungsoo calls out his name.  
  
“Jongin ! Wait, one last thing !” The sophomore turns around with a questioning smile, only seeing Kyungsoo’s head picking out of the doorway, “I suddenly remembered about your fanfiction and I thought...if you’re out of inspiration and you need, say, ideas...and _demonstrations_... Well, you know where I live, now. Don’t bother calling. Just come.”  
  
And the handsome bastard has the audacity to _wink_ at Jongin before retreating back inside.  
  
The door closes.  
  
And it takes approximately four seconds for Jongin’s brain to click and process the words.  
  
Two extra seconds to make up his mind.  
  
Then he is jogging back.  
  
He arrives in front of the white door and starts knocking.  
  
One thump later, it swings open and a still very shirtless Kyungsoo grins at him.  
  
“Yes ?” the man says, faking innocence.  
  
Jongin takes a deep breath.  
  
“I think I’m out of inspiration,” he says, locking eyes with the older.  
  
_Sorry mom._  
  
Kyungsoo lets out a short deep laugh. He reaches out and hooks his index finger into the belt loop of Jongin’s jeans.  
  
“Good. Come here,” he smirks with a predatory look in his dark eyes, yanking the younger towards him.  
  
Their bodies crash against each other and Jongin is vaguely aware of Kyungsoo closing the door before he gets pushed up against it as the redhaired male attacks his neck, hands slipping under his shirt.  
  
He doesn’t really need his phone anyway, right ?

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> *nervously pops up*  
> Was it okay ?  
> I'm sorry if there was still some typos or grammar/conjugation mistakes. I'm not an native English speaker, but I promise I did my best !  
> And I also apologize if any actual barista read that and facepalmed... I'm did some research but that hot chocolate making scene is probably badly described xD !  
> Anyway, I really hope you all liked it, especially you who I wrote this for !! Maybe at least a teeeeny little bit ?  
> *anxiously curls back in a corner*


End file.
